By TR Robertson
After taking a year off due to COVID, the Parkinson’s Association of San Diego recently held their 4th Empowerment Day Conference educating people living with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers about the disease, the current treatments, and medications available, ways to deal with the disease, how caregivers can help in the treatment and fight and what the future holds for new procedures and medicines to fight Parkinson’s.
The all-day event was held at the Marina Village Conference Center in Mission Bay. The conference featured a number of presentations by experts in the treatment of Parkinson’s ranging from leading doctors, neurosurgeons, therapists, specialists in yoga other body movement exercises and much more.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder caused by dying neurons in the part of the brain that controls movement, at times making it difficult for the person to walk, talk and balance. No one description of people with Parkinson’s is the same. It can cause trembling and stiffness for some, depression, sleep problems, memory issues and fatigue. It is estimated over one million people have some form of Parkinson’s. Men are 1.5 times more likely to have Parkinson’s than women. Many are misdiagnosed for years before diagnosed correctly. That alone is part of the issue as many go years before proper treatment is recommended. Jonathan Schwartz, one of the presenters on “Health, Happiness and Aging,” said there soon will be more people over 65 than ever before and the possibility of Parkinson’s could reach record numbers.
Nelson Hwynn, D.O. from Scripps Medical Group, began the conference by outlining the topics that would be covered in 15–20-minute presentations throughout the day. The range of topics would cover deep brain stimulation, alternative medicines, exercise, music and singing, environmental toxins and their effect, medications and how they work, support groups, non-motor and sleep issues, and research and the future.
Sherrie Gould, FNP, from Scripps Medical Group gave two presentations during the conference. The first covered “Attitude and Exercise.” Gould said, “Exercise is medicine for your body and brain.” She said regardless of what stage of Parkinson’s a person is in they should set goals, do some sort of exercise daily regardless of how long it is. Exercising helps improve the mental process, mood, balance, and coordination. You can exercise on your own or through the help and assistance of a trained specialist. Gould emphasized the key is consistency, repetition and over emphasizing to help push your body as much as you can take to help you to get moving.
“If it’s not challenging you, it’s not changing you” she told the hundreds in attendance also summing up by saying “make it safe, fun and challenging.”
Gould’s other presentation centered on the effect of Environmental Toxins and Parkinson’s Disease. She pointed out that Parkinson’s is the fastest growing brain disease in the world, and it is estimated that by 2040 as many as 12.9 million people could have some form of the disease if effective means of treating and stopping the disease are not found. Two of the toxins discussed that efforts for banning are underway include Trichloroethylene and Paraquat. She said Trichloroethylene contaminates over 30% of U.S. drinking water and prolonged exposure can lead to Parkinson’s disease. Paraquat, used in pesticides, has been banned by twenty other countries but not in the U.S. Gould recommended washing all vegetables and fruits before eating them. The Central California corridor is referred to as Parkinson’s Alley and workers in this area are five times more likely to develop Parkinson’s than other people in California. She also recommended including a Mediterranean diet as part of your weekly diet – fruits, veggies, olive oil, beans and nuts, whole grains, coffee, and fish. Go to www.PDavengers.com to check out advocacy programs for global well-being.
David Barba, M.D., brain surgeon at U.C.S.D. and a Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery U.C.S.D. went through a detailed description of the techniques and procedures for Deep Brain Stimulation and how the procedures work for those who qualify for this type of procedure to assist with many of the Parkinson’s afflictions. He also reminded the group that not everyone with Parkinson’s is a candidate for Deep Brain Stimulation.
There were a number of companies in attendance with tables and literature available for attendees which people visited before the conference, at break, lunch and after the conference ended. The companies covered care facilities, various medical procedures and devices, Deep Brain Stimulations procedures and much more.
Part 2 of the article dealing with Parkinson’s will cover boxing as an exercise, medications for Parkinson’s, the Tremble Clefs, Alternative Medicine, Non-motor and sleep relationship with Parkinson, Caregiver issues and research and the future for Parkinson’s treatment.
For information about the Parkinson’s Association go to www.parkinsonsassociation.org for information on how to get involved
