VANCOUVER -- About 100,000 Canadians have Parkinson's and that number is expected to double in ten year's time. Why Parkinson's occurs is a mystery: less than 10 percent of cases are believed to be genetic. It's believed there are environmental and even occupational factors, but they have yet to be teased out. But researchers are understanding a lot more about this disease.
Aurora Reale is a Parkinson's patient. She says, "I had stiffness in her right hand, sort of like a throbbing pulsating sensation in my hand. It just didn't feel right. It was just a feeling, a woman's intuition, that in my heart, I knew I was going to get Parkinson's like my mother had."
Four years ago, Aurora Reale was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 46. Although her mother had the same disease, Aurora's case isn't considered genetic.
Aurora Reale says, "I feel pretty good still. It affects my walking. As you know, it affects in different ways, slurring, memory loss, the shakiness, so for me, it's my walking on my right side. And I can't always walk like I used too."
Parkinson's disease is due to the loss of an important neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the brain.
Dr. Jon Stoessl says, "the final problem in Parkinson's is the cells that produce dopamine die off, so there's a profound loss of dopamine in the brain."
By the time symptoms show up, a lot of the damage has been done. While drugs can replace the dopamine...they only cover up what's wrong and don't slow down the disease...
At UBC, researchers are using various imaging techniques to understand how the brain changes with Parkison's.
Dr. Stoessl says, "so what the pet allows us to do is to kook at the activity of dopamine in the brain. We can identify disease before it produces symptoms and it's certainly true, you can tell the difference between mild involvement on the pet scan and severe involvement on the pet scan."
An important new gene mutuation was recently discovered that may open new doors for treatment. Advances like these are giving hope to patient's like Aurora.
Aurora says, "I have good days and bad days. I think we're close. I'm hoping in my lifetime that there will be a cure."
Aurora says a lot of Parkinson's patients don't go out because they're afraid of the stares. Her advice is to continue doing what you can and go out with your head held high. She continues to teach drama and stays as positive as she can. Tomorrow night, Aurora will be speaking at a fundraising gala for the BC Parkinson's Society. Money will go towards research and support services for the 7,000 BC residents living with this disease. For tickets and more information you can go to www.parkinson.bc.ca.
Thursday April 27, 2006
