Articles Posted in Parkinsons Disease

April is Parkinson’s Awareness month.  Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder with a variety of motor function impairment symptoms such as tremors, rigidity and mobility problems.  Other symptoms may be apathy, depression, sleep problems, loss of smell and cognitive impairment.  There is no known cure and treatment options vary.

Advancements in medical technologies have improved in medications to delay the worsening of symptoms. Doctors have also experimented with surgeries that can control erratic brain impulses. Surgeries, like deep brain stimulation, for instance, involve the placing of electrodes to block the abnormal brain activity that is responsible for generating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Most Parkinson’s disease sufferers will be above the age of 60, but in recent years, medical scientists have confirmed that Parkinson’s disease can strike at any age.  Young persons are not immune to the disease.

New studies find that that there is a possible relationship between flu and the onset of Parkinson’s disease.

The research was published recently in the JAMA Neurology journal, and suggests that the onset of Parkinson’s disease could be triggered by an infection like viral influenza. As part of the study, the researchers went through medical records between 1977 and 2016, and found that there was a correlation between a diagnosis of influenza and the onset of Parkinson’s disease about a decade later.

The records of more than 60,000 people were analysed, and out of these, the researchers found that more than 10,000 received a Parkinson’s diagnosis. The researchers found that people who had suffered from the flu were as much as 73% more likely to receive a Parkinson’s diagnosis a decade later, compared to people who had never suffered the flu.

For persons who are already suffering from a serious medical condition and are on disability, coping with the pandemic has been a serious challenge. Persons suffering from Parkinson’s disease have been no exception.

According to new research data released by the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, even when Parkinson’s disease patients were able to avoid infections, they suffered from the lack of access to medical services, physical therapy and social activities.

In many cases, patients found their medicine supply disrupted. Some medications have been more difficult to procure during the pandemic. In other cases, patients found that the restrictions on travel made it difficult for them to receive home care because caregivers were unable to travel.  As hospitals became overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases, and non- essential medical services got disrupted, many Parkinson’s disease patients also found it difficult to keep up with treatments as appointments were cancelled.