Parkinson’s treatments helping quality of life

When he was 25, Roy Roden experienced the first sign: insomnia. Over the next 25 years, he displayed a range of other symptoms: difficulty holding a spoon, shaking of his hands, memory problems and an unexplained twitch.

But it was only in 2009, after visiting many doctors, that Roden was finally diagnosed with Parkinsons disease.

In a way it was a relief putting a label, putting a name on my disorder, said Roden, 54, who lives in North Miami Beach and works part-time as a fitness consultant. But in another way it was a shock, and I didnt know where to go from here.

Roden chose to be proactive, taking medication, participating in clinical research programs and urging others to join clinical trials.

I am doing what I am supposed to be doing to retard the disease and I remain optimistic, he said. I have a wonderful wife and family and wonderful doctors and a wonderful support system with friends and colleagues.

Each year, about 50,000-60,000 new cases of Parkinsons are diagnosed, with an average age at diagnosis of 62, according to the National Parkinson Foundation, based in Miami since 1957.

A progressive, neurodegenerative brain disorder, Parkinsons is the second most common degenerative disease of the brain, after Alzheimers. It affects one million people in the United States and an estimated four to six million worldwide.

Parkinsons causes tremor, slowness of movement and rigidity, and those with the disease can also display a host of other early symptoms, including loss of smell. The disorder can also affect cognition and gastrointestinal functions, experts say.

The disease is caused in large part by a deficiency in the brain of the neurochemical dopamine, and progression can take at least a decade. About 15 percent of cases are known to be familial, and the other 85 percent are due to unknown genetic and environmental factors, said Dr. Carlos Singer, professor of neurology at the University of Miami School of Medicine and division chief of Parkinsons and movement disorders.

Efforts to treat the condition are centered on treating the symptoms as well as slowing the diseases progression. To further that fight, a new diagnostic test that helps in identifying the disease has recently been approved. New trials are under way, and stem-cell research is expected down the road.

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Parkinson’s treatments helping quality of life