What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder affecting the nerve cells in the brain which make a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine helps nerve cells send messages to the rest of the body to control muscle movement, so without enough dopamine, the muscles do not function properly.

What is the long term prognosis for Parkinson’s?
Parkinson’s is a progressive disease, but the rate of progression is different for each person, and the responsiveness to medication varies. If left untreated, Parkinson’s may lead to the deterioration of all brain functions and early death.

What causes Parkinson’s?
No one knows why the dopamine-producing nerve cells are gradually damaged and eventually destroyed. Sometimes Parkinson’s does run in families, especially when the age of onset is younger than 50, but most patients do not experience any symptoms of Parkinson’s until after the age of 50.

What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s?

Tremors or shaking of the hands, feet, or head

Stiffness or freezing in limbs and facial expressions

Speech is slurred, slowed, or becomes monotone

Muscle movements slow down

Posture becomes stooped

Swallowing becomes difficult

Drooling is uncontrollable

Mental confusion or disorientation occurs

Small muscle movement becomes difficult (activities like writing)

Vivid dreams or hallucinations

Reflexes (like blinking) slow or stop

Difficulty maintaining balance

Symptoms may affect one or both sides of the body. Patients may not experience all of the above symptoms, but generally the severity and variety of symptoms increase as the disease progresses.

How is Parkinson’s diagnosed?
Doctors will look for the presence of symptoms to make a diagnosis. Because some of the same symptoms are found with other disorders, doctors may run tests to rule out other disorders.

How is Parkinson’s treated?
Because there is no known cure for Parkinson’s, the primary goal of treatment is to manage the symptoms and improve overall health and strength. Most symptoms are diminished with the use of medications that increase the level of dopamine in the brain, but as the medication wears off, symptoms return. Other medical care like therapy, exercise, or dietary improvements may help maintain muscle control and slow the advancement of Parkinson’s.

When medications are not effective, severe Parkinson’s patients may be recommended to undergo surgical procedures like Deep Brain Stimulation using electrical stimulation, or another more drastic surgery to destroy the effected brain tissues which cause the symptoms of Parkinson’s. None of the surgical procedures are considered a cure for Parkinson’s, but may help some patients with severe symptoms.

Who may be a part of the medical care team for a Parkinson’s patient?
Doctors will work to find the medications, dosage, and timing of doses that are most effective for each patient. Physical therapists will customize exercises to prevent muscle atrophy, and occupational therapists will help find exercises or adaptive equipment that will allow patients to remain as independent and functional in the home as long as possible. A speech therapist may offer helpful exercises to maintain clear speech. A nutritionist may also be on call to adjust diet to improve overall health and meet the specific needs of patients.

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Parkinson’s Awareness Month: Reflecting on the Stem Cell Debate

As Parkinson’s Awareness Month continues, and my wife and I reflect on her father who passed away from Parkinson’s, I want to go back for a minute and relect on the debate that raged through the country for a good portion of the past decade. It was laced with all kinds of exaggeration and vitriol, and pretty much became nonsensical.

The issue came up when scientists began experimenting with embryonic stem cells and implanting them into patients with Parkinson’s, and began to see some results. They wanted to do more testing. Broader testing. Because if you sense you might be on to something, you don’t want to be hampered with unnecessary restrictions. After all, we’re talking about lives here.

The problem, of course, was the ethical dilemma. Pro Life advocates around the country were mortified. In their minds, the abortion problem is already bad enough. Now, if we are going to start using the tissues from aborted fetuses for medical testing, the abortion problem will escalate. Not only that, they said, but are we really the type of people that harvest children in order to kill them and give their genes to someone else? After all, we’re talking about human lives here!

The issue went round and round, and probably peaked when actor Michael J. Fox appeared before congress to talk about his Parkinson’s, and to lobby for stem cell research. Mr. Fox was shaking visibly throughout his testimony. I am told that he had intentionally not taken his medication in order to show the country the full effects of the disease. And the country was blown away. After all, this wasn’t just any actor. This was Michael J. Fox. Mary McFly. He was the symbol of youth and vibrance in America, and to see him like that was difficult. The emotional impact swung in favor or the Stem Cell Research proponents.

So who was in the right in this debate?

Researchers, I believe, are right to look at all angles and do their best to come up with a cure to any disease. Parkinson’s is ravaging the senior community. Again, my own father in law was crippled by the disease for years, and finally died of it. I know we, as a family, would have done almost anything to see him get well.

But we would never have taken the life of someone else in order to do it. Let me tell you where I stand on the issue at the risk of making some people upset. The question of the life of the fetus IS the issue. It is the crux of the matter. Are we taking lives when we are harvesting embryonic stem cells? Are we taking lives when we abort a child? Every other debate here is a side issue. If a fetus is a living person, than the debate is over. All the other stuff flying around the aisles is just noise at that point. After all, who would advocate killing one young person to save another?

So what if an embryo is not a living baby? Well then, that is a different story, and the debate on that point is over. We still need to deal with the “are we living in a scary sci fi movie where we harvest organs” type of issues, but as soon as we see our loved ones shaking like that, the debate would be over.

I remember one friend of mine sarcastically saying, “If only we could find stem cells in vending machines.” His point: it’s a tough issue, but we have to find the stem cells, and that’s where we get them. So let’s just make the tough call and get them. (Again, I would point out that if the embryo is a living baby, his argument is mute. He wouldn’t make the argument. Moreover, why is it a hard decision if you don’t think the baby is living? It wouldn’t be. There should be no person who ever says they are “personally” against abortion while still supporting its legality. Because why are you personally against it? But I digress…)

What my friend did not realize was this: stem cells are actually very available, and they don’t have to come from human embryos. They can come from adults. There have been a plethora of studies using adult stem cells to fight Parkinson’s, and the results have been just as promising.

And to me, that’s where we should be investing. There’s plenty of promise in adult stem cells. So let’s leave the embryos alone. Look, we all have people we love that are suffering, and we hate it. But if we don’t have a definitive answer on whether the search for a cure actually means killing children, then we should completely stop the presses until that question is definitively answered.

Anyway, I was just thinking about that this morning, and I thought I’d throw that out there. Let’s pray that we find a cure to Parkinson’s quickly. For more discussions on elder care services and elderly activities, visit our homepage.

Parkinson’s Non-Profit Celebrates 50 Years

As you know if you’ve been keeping up with this blog, April is Parkinson’s Awareness month. There have been a host of events around the country to help turn the nation’s attention once again on the disease that is now affecting more than one million seniors in the United States.

One of the groups on the forefront of the research is the American Parkinson Disease Association (ADPA), based out of Long Island, NY. The ADPA was founded in 1960, and now has chapters all over the nation. This year marks the non-profit’s 50th year, and they are planning a series of events to mark their anniversary, and to raise new funding and awareness to find a cure.

As we have mentioned, this disease hits home for us here at iCare For Elders in a personal way, because my wife’s father suffered and died from it. (My wife wrote about this in this post last week.) And one of the most essential things that a family can do is find support from other families who are experiencing the disease. This is what her parents finally decided to do, and it really paid off.

Why do I mention Parkinson’s support groups again? Because the ADPA, in addition to its 54 centers around the country, also has more than a thousand Parkinson’s support groups! This is a wonderful thing. Many of those suffering with this disease either directly or indirectly can really benefit from these groups.

Anyway, the ADPA has some other events scheduled for this year, and especially throughout April. One cool trend we’re seeing is the “Walkathon” event, which is really becoming popular. This weekend, there are Walkathon’s in Asheville (North Carolina), San Diego (California), Las Vegas (Nevada), and Virginia Beach (Virginia) alone. Next month, there will be Walkathons in places like Los Angeles, CA and Madison, WI.

You can read about these and other evens on the ADPA website.

For more information about Parkinson’s disease, check out this site. For more information on elderly activities relating to Parkinson’s, etc, visit our homepage.

Parkinson’s Awareness Month Events Around the Country

As we mentioned in our previous article, April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. What is Parkinson’s Disease? Here is how the Mayo Clinic defines it:

“Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It develops gradually, often starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while tremor may be the most well-known sign of Parkinson’s disease, the disorder also commonly causes a slowing or freezing of movement.” -Source: Mayoclinic.com

The article goes on to say that the disease often begins in a subtle way: a person’s speech begins to slur a little, or their arms don’t swing back and forth like they normally did. Over time, however, the symptoms have a way of worsening over time.

Here’s another description, this time from WebMD:

“Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include muscle rigidity, tremors, and changes in speech and gait. Parkinson’s causes are unknown but genetics, aging, and toxins are being researched” Source-WebMD.com

There is no cure for Parkinson’s. There are some treatments available, including some herbal remedies that are out there, but whether they can work on a consistent basis is still not proven.

Parkinson’s was made famous years ago by actor Michael J. Fox. When Fox was diagnosed, people were shocked to see the young energetic superstar shaking like a leaf. It was a jolt to the nation. When Fox went before congress to testify, he had not taken his medication, and the effect was even more startling. Then last year, congress took another step in publicizing the awful effects of Parkinson’s by declaring April to be “National Parkinson’s Awareness Month.” To commemorate the month, there are a host of activities and events around the country that can help spread the word:

2011 Annual Parkinson Awareness Month Conference
This is being held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is a two day conference features all kinds of helpful information on how to deal with the disease. It will also feature a session that is open to the public (general information on Parkinson’s) and a silent auction to raise money to fight the disease.

Parkinson’s Awareness Month Luncheon
This is a fundraiser luncheon held in Dallas, TX on April 7. Now obviously, it is far too late to expect people to fly from around the country for this event, but there is something worth mentioning about this event and the people who are putting it on. The featured speaker is a man named David Iverson who wrote and directed a PBS documentary on Parkinson’s disease entitled “My Father, My brother, and Me,” which chronicles his own attempt to learn about Parkinson’s in his own family.

But the main reason I mention this event is because it was put on by a group called the Texas Voice Project. This is a one of a kind group that helps Parkinson’s patients who have experienced loss of vocal control, swallowing, etc. They work with patients who are dealing with other neurological orders of the same kind as well. In the long run, improving in these areas can help reduce the risk of pneumonia that is brought on by these types of problems. Like I said, this is the only program like this in the nation, but their goal is to replicate this all throughout the country.

Anyway, like I said, we will continue to talk about Parkinson’s disease throughout this month, as well as other information on elder care services.

Parkinson’s Awareness Month: A Personal Story

As of last year, April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. My Dad passed away 3 & 1/2 years ago after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, and I am keenly aware of the effects of Parkinson’s on an individual and family. Parkinson’s is a chronic and progressive neurological disease with no known cure, but thankfully more and more attention has been turned toward early diagnosis, affective treatment and management of symptoms. As more attention is shown and more research is funded, everyone hopes to find a cure for this debilitating disease.

I believe my dad was possibly showing early signs of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) as early as 10 years before he was finally diagnosed. In hindsight, I remembered he experienced sleep disturbances, lack of muscle control and balance, fatigue that lasted weeks at a time, and one hand would start to shake while at rest. My dad hated going to the doctor any time for any reason, but when PD symptoms started affecting every day activities like dressing, sleeping, talking, driving, and cognitive processing, even he couldn’t deny something was definitely wrong.

I lived almost 1,000 miles away, so I wasn’t there to see his early serious decline, but I during one phone call I was convinced. He was having trouble speaking clearly, and putting thoughts together. I was alarmed and immediately implored him to go get checked out by a doctor. He gave the same “I’m just getting old” line, but I knew it was no time to back down. As soon as we could make the trip, I called a face-to-face intervention with my brothers and mom to have a sit down and really convince him that now was time to face the facts: he needed a doctor’s help.

When I saw him after being gone for over a year, I was shocked at how quickly his symptoms had worsened. In 12 months, he had gone from being the outdoorsy, fisherman, hunter, gardner dad I remembered to…an old man. He shuffled when he walked, his hands shook, his facial expressions froze, his voice had weakened considerably, and he just looked utterly exhausted. But, he was of course, still my dad.

We had the “sit down.” We laid out the facts of what we saw as gently, lovingly, yet urgently as we could, and I begged him to see the doctor. I think he knew he had Parkinson’s already and just didn’t want to hear it said out loud. His mother had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and mistakenly overdosed by the hospital just before being released and sent home. She died on the way back to the hospital.

My dad did the tough thing. He faced the thing he feared, and the thing he feared became his reality, but he and my mother found a lot of support along the way. The doctor quickly put him on PD management medications, adjusting the dose and schedule until the found the levels and timing that gave my dad optimal functioning when he most needed it. He began physical therapy and occupational therapy soon after. The therapists came into my parents home and showed my mom and dad strengthening exercises which really helped. A nutritionist also was on hand to offer dietary advice, and my parents made many changes with positive results. The specialists who came and went were very positive and encouraging while gently making my parents aware of the progressiveness of Parkinson’s. This awareness of what was to come was excruciatingly hard for my dad to bear, but really underscored the importance of being consistent in all of the things the specialists were teaching them to do. This awareness of impending struggles also drove my mother to seek a Parkinson’s support group.

It took a while before my dad was willing to attend the Parkinson’s support group with my mother, because as he admitted to her later, he didn’t want to be faced with the dismal picture of his future when meeting more advanced Parkinson’s participants. But he finally did cave, and found the group to be a comfort at some level, just knowing others were going through some of the same things. Being a counsellor by nature and occupation, I think it also helped him to get his focus off his own suffering, and offer comfort and hope to others.

The last time I saw my dad, we had just brought him home after a 6-week hospital stay. We about to move far away again, but we were able to visit with him almost every day while he was in the hospital. We thought he would never make it home. He was weak, having trouble swallowing and breathing on his own, and was put on a ventilator and feeding tube. We brought our three little ones in to sit on grandpa’s bed, sing him songs, and give him kisses and crayon-drawn pictures. I sat in his hospital room day after day and read to him, talked to him, or just held his hand. At one point it hit me: This is my chance to say goodbye. We were able to bring him home, wave goodbye to him as he stood on the front step, and we drove off to find our new home in California. A few months later we got the middle of the night call: my dad had passed away. It’s never easy even when you know it’s coming. I was just thankful we had had som many sweet moments together those few months earlier.

Parkinson’s Disease is a devastating disease, but there are so many more resources out there now than in my grandmother’s day. The medical community has certainly not given up on finding a cure, but in the mean time, it’s not sitting back on it’s laurels. The focus has expanded to include better management and treatment of symptoms, more effective therapies, and improved attention to overall quality of life and physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. That’s a good thing. Parkinson’s Disease is such a hard thing to face, but you no longer have to face it alone.

Stay tuned for more articles this month on Parkinson’s disease, and info on how to find the elder care services you need right here at iCare For Elders.