New treatments for Parkinson’s disease – pt 2

09.09.10 / parkinsons disease / Author: Alex
Tags: Disease, parkinsons, treatments

Part 4 of the Living with Parkinson’s – a series of films DVD produced by Norges Parkinsonforbund (the Norwegian Parkinson’s disease Association). This series of films provides a realistic picture of the challenges and opportunities faced by people with Parkinson’s disease and their families. This project was financed by EXTRA funds from the Norwegian Foundation for Health and Rehabilitation. The English version has been supported by Solvay Pharma and in cooperation with EPDA.

With Requip You can Minimize The Symptoms Of Parkinson’s Disease To A Great Extent

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most dreaded and crippling diseases that man may have the misfortune to experience. It is an ailment that comes about due to the deterioration of the central nervous system, throwing out of gear the patient’s motor skills, speech and various other functions. It is categorized into the group of disorders known as movement disorders. Some of the specific characteristics of this ailment is stiffness of the muscles, tremor, a sluggishness of movements of various parts of the body and in intense cases a total failure of physical movements.  And the worst part of this disease is that as of now there is no cure for it; however there are medications that can help to reduce the symptoms to a large extent.

Now Requip is a medication that is commonly used to treat both Parkinson’s disease and another movement disorder called the Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS. Typically these ailments are caused by the lack of dopamine in the brain, which is responsible for the coordination of the muscle movements. When the dopamine is low the muscles tend to become slow, stiff and unyielding. Requip works by enhancing the dopamine and by cheating the nervous system into believing that there is more dopamine than there really is, so that they are tricked into  making the muscles less stiff and inflexible.

Requip is a medication that is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and can be availed only through the prescription of the doctor. It belongs to a group of drugs called the dopamine agonists.

Normally this medication is taken with some food to avoid nausea. If you are a PD patient you normally have to take it thrice daily and for RLS you take it once a day about two to three hours before bedtime. The initial side effects like nausea, giddiness, feeling faint and excessive sweating generally subside soon. Ensure that you do not stand up too soon after you take the medication lest you fall.

Requip should not be stopped suddenly and if you want best results ensure that you take it regularly.

Drug name is a well known drug and at the same time it is widely considered as the best option for most of the strange diseases that you might come along. It is always advised to buy these drugs at a reputed Online Drugstore, as you can save a lot of time and money. You can click here to Buy Generic Requip.

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Question by KC <3: How close are we to finding a cure to Parkinson’s disease?

Best answer:

Answer by Melody
Well… I don’t know. I’m not a research scientist. But what I can tell you is that while there is no cure, there have been great advancements made for caring for patients with PD and pretty effective treatments that make life for people who have it much easier.
A few facts about treatment:
L-dopa (levadopa medication) is given to curb symptoms
But eventually it becomes ineffective or causes adverse side effects so the patients can’t take it any longer.
When that happens, doctors are likely to suggest the option of brain surgery, a type of brain surgery called Deep Brain Stimulation.
It’s a relatively safe procedure in the way of brain surgery, in which, using conscious sedation and local annesthetic on the scalp and skull, a conscious patient is first fitted with a halo brace, a metal frame which is screwed into their head and then bolted to the operating table to prevent movement during the surgery.
Using CT scans and active MRIs, a neurosurgeon inserts electrodes, slender wires, into two or so ‘burr holes’ or holes drilled in the patient’s skull. These tiny holes allow the surgeon to guide the wires to the target of stimulation, often the thalamus, deep within the brain. The patient needs to be awake so that the surgical team can test if the electrodes are at the right place. To test this, they turn on a low-volt electric current that travels down the electrode and stimulates the brain wherever the electrode is located. When the right spot is found, it stops abberant neurological activity in the area, effectively reducing or stopping symptoms like tremmor or writhing.
Then the next phase of the surgery is done under general anesthetic, where the surgeon implants a small pacemaker-like pulse generator in the patient’s chest near the collarbone. The electrodes are tunneled under the skin in the patient’s neck and attatched to the pulse generator, which, when turned on, sends electricity down the electrode to the brain, stopping faulty neurological activity that causes the symptoms.
This surgery is done on patients with moderate-severe Parkinson’s, and for several years, may alleviate most symptoms. But ultimately, the DBS is just not enough to stop progression of the disease into dementia and weakening of muscles. But for years, it gives the patients a normal life while they can have it.
You know, a lot of scientists are researching ways to develop new treatments for Parkinson’s.
A compound found in nicotine is promising in the development of new neuro-psychiatric drugs for not only PD, but a range of other neurological diseases, from schizophrenia to Tourette Syndrome.
I hope they do find a cure.
This info I got from reading about DBS, because I’m researching DBS as a treatment for my extreme Tourette’s Syndrome.
Parkinson’s patients have given the medical world a gift of a new brain surgery that has applications that you may never have dreamed of, from treatment of severe OCD and depression, to my disease, Tourette’s syndrome, which can be very debilitating in severe cases like mine. I hope they do find a cure. But for now many patients are benefitting from L-dopa and DBS among other treatments.

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Priscilla Wakefield House


Image by Alan Stanton
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Priscilla Wakefield House under construction 15 August 2007. It’s a large private Care Home between Harold Road and Herbert Road London N15.

The photo shows the western end of the building in Rangemoor Road. It extends onto a small parcel of land which used to be a pocket-park, owned by Haringey Council.

It was the area hatched blue on the map inset. Quite small – about 0.06 hectares – and had grassed mounds, a few trees, shrubs, a short walkway and benches.

The pocket-park vanished after the land was sold to the developers, Precious Homes, in 2003. Much to the dismay of many local residents and Governors of the nearby Primary School. (At the time, including me).

Links

§ From Precious Homes website
"Priscilla Wakefield House is a purpose built residential home specifically designed to meet the needs of the elderly and also offers care for other specialisms such as Parkinson’s or Huntington’s disease, and for young physically disabled people."

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It seems that Priscilla Wakefield was a remarkable person. She belonged to Tottenham’s Quaker community. In between caring for her family; bearing – and sometimes burying – her children; and writing books for children and young people, she was involved in a range of social reforms and causes – including anti-slavery; girls’ education; and setting up a local savings bank in Tottenham.

§ David Roodman’s blog includes excerpts from Priscilla Wakefield’s diary in 1798 – transcribed by Janine McVeagh.
§ Christine Protz one of Tottenham’s local historians has written briefly about Priscilla Wakefield in her book Tottenham a History (Phillimore 2009).
§ Photo of Chris Protz signing copies of her book at the launch.
§ Several of the buildings associated with Priscilla Walkefield still stand. This includes the original Blue Coat School – later known as the Blue School – on Scotland Green. (It’s possibly the “Scotland” Priscilla Wakefield referred to on 30 July 1798.) The present Tottenham Quaker Meeting House and burial ground is nearby.

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§ Link to the blog I love N15. Photos and comments about the small area in Tottenham N15, south of Broad Lane and north of Markfield Park; bounded on the west by the High Road. (Had not been updated since April 2009.)