Early Parkinson’s detection offers greater hope

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease become evident when an area of the brain called the substantia nigra begins to degenerate. Neurons (brain cells) in the substantia nigra slowly die, depriving the brain of dopamine, a chemical messenger or neurotransmitter that enables communication among the brain cells involved in smooth motor control.

Reduced levels of dopamine lead to classic Parkinson’s symptoms. These include muscle tremors, stiffness, and slowness of movement. In atypical cases, patients have also been known to experience slurred speech, frequent falls, fainting attacks, and impassive facial expressions.

However, because these symptoms are similar to a host of other movement disorders such as supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy, it is vital that an accurate diagnosis be made so that the correct care and treatment can be provided. Recognizing the symptoms early on allows doctors to conduct tests to make a more accurate differential diagnosis.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive and degenerative neurological disorder that robs people of control over their bodily movements. People with Parkinson’s can expect to become increasingly disabled as the disease progresses. With time, even routine daily activities like bathing, dressing and eating without assistance become difficult or impossible.

People with Parkinson’s can go through extreme shifts in movement control – from periods of virtually normal motor function to episodes of complete immobility in a matter of a few hours.

But although there is no cure for Parkinson’s at the moment, early detection and accurate diagnosis are crucial to providing the correct treatment. It also helps in coming to terms with the impact that the illness will have on the patient’s quality of life and its subsequent effects on the family. It is not uncommon for patients to experience clinical depression as their ability to control their movement declines.

Activa Parkinson’s Control Therapy is a deep brain stimulation therapy (DBS) wherein one or two surgically implanted medical devices called neurostimulators deliver mild electrical stimulation to precisely targeted areas on each side of the brain.

It can help patients regain some measure of motor control by stimulating the exact areas of the brain where dopamine is produced and blocking the signals that cause the disabling motor symptoms of Parkinson’s.

In the advanced stages of Parkinson’s, Activa Parkinson’s Control Therapy can significantly improve the quality of life of some patients by prolonging the periods of virtually normal motor function or "on" time by an average of six hours.

It can also reduce the duration of the abnormal, involuntary movements (dyskinesias) that are typical side effect of Parkinson’s medications.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of Activa Therapy, as compared to other surgical options, is that it can be reversed. The therapy can be halted at any time and the system removed, thus allowing patients to keep their options open in the event a cure for Parkinson’s is developed.

In addition, Activa Parkinson’s Control Therapy can easily be adjusted over time to best match the need for symptom control. To adjust the stimulation, a doctor uses a programmer to communicate non-invasively with the neurostimulator via radio signal.

Today, new discoveries in neuroscience research, advances in understanding what causes Parkinson’s disease, and a wide range of new treatments on the horizon, including stem cell transplants, precision surgical repair, chronic brain stimulation, and natural growth factors, to name a few, fuel optimism that one day a cure for Parkinson’s disease will be found.

For more information about the Activa Parkinson’s Control Therapy, visit the Philippine Movement Disorder Surgery Center at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, call 726-0776, or fax inquiries to 727-7653.