Finding Cure For Parkinson's/Dementia On The Rise

A COUPLE of significant developments took place last week on the international level where people with disabilities and the elderly are concerned.

I thought it a must to mention them in my column for this week.

The first was some good news for persons with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers.     

It was announced on BBC World Service radio that the world’s biggest research study into the cause of Parkinson’s disease is to take place soon.  

It will be headed by Dr Donald Grosset, a neurologist at Glasgow University in the United Kingdom.  

According to the BBC report, the brain condition affects almost 130,000 people in the UK.

And Dr Grosset says he hopes the milestone research will be able to find better ways of both diagnosing and treating the disease.

In order to do this, Charity Parkinson's UK is looking for as many as 3,000 volunteers with the condition – as well as their siblings - to take part in the study.

Parkinson's is a debilitating condition. Its symptoms include tremors, mood changes, difficulties in movement, loss of smell and speech problems.

Charity Parkinson’s says it was investing more than £1.6m in the Tracking Parkinson's study with the long-term aim of boosting the chances of finding a cure.

The 3000 volunteers who will be taking part in the study will those who have recently been diagnosed with the disease. It will also include people diagnosed aged under 50 and their brothers and sisters.

According to the London-based broadcaster, the purpose of the research is to identify markers in the blood which could be used to create a simple diagnostic test for the disease, something which currently does not exist.

Parkinson's medical experts say early diagnosis is crucial for doctors to be able to prescribe the right drugs for people with the condition.

The BBC adds that the responses to various treatments of those taking part in the study will be closely monitored for up to five years.

The project will then eventually be linked up to 40 research centres across the UK.

Dr Grosset says the cure for Parkinson's disease is a global challenge.

“And all the samples gathered from our thousands of volunteers will be available for analysis by researchers the world over,” he adds.

Apart from Dr Grosset’s involvement, this cutting edge research will collaborate with top researchers from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

"Finding a cure for Parkinson's is like building a gigantic jigsaw, but we still have a number of the pieces missing, says another Parkinson’s expert Dr Kieran Breen, director of research and innovation at Parkinson’s UK.

"This vital new study will help us fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge,” he concluded in the BBC report.

Several Malaysian with Parkinson’s and their caregivers meanwhile that I spoke to, welcomed the research news.  The development, they said, has given them more impetus to fight against the insidious disease through positive living.

Meanwhile, a report from Geneva on the Voice Of America (VOA) broadcaster has warned the dementia cases are poised to triple by the year 2050.

The Washington DC-based international radio station was quoting a new report based on a population of people with dementia from 36 million to more than 115 million.

The VOA, quoting the report from the World Health Organisation and Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) pointed out that dementia will be a major problem for people in all countries, with more than half living in low and middle-income countries.

ADI Executive Director Marc Wortmann says by any measure the statistics are frightening.

He says a new case of dementia now pops up in every four seconds when 10 years ago, it was calculated at one in every seven seconds.

“And if you look into the future projections, it may be close to one in every second by the year 2050.  So, we need to act. We need to do something to stop this epidemic,” added Wortmann.

According to experts, dementia is increasing because people are living longer. However, the disease is not a normal part of growing old. Most older people do not have this condition.

Dementia is a brain disorder caused by a variety of brain illnesses that affect memory, thinking and the ability to perform everyday activities.

WHO Mental Health and Substance Abuse Director Shekhar Saxena says dementia is often not recognized because it is commonly mistaken for an age-related decline in functioning because it can mimic age-related problems.

It also progresses slowly and is not easily diagnosed.

Professor of Epidemiological Psychiatry at Kings College London, Martin Prince, says dementia is not yet a huge problem in developing countries, but that is because few people live more than 75 years.

This is expected to change with population growth and improved health.

WHO reports more than $600 billion a year is spent in treating and caring for people with dementia and that figure is expected to rise astronomically.

Health officials call dementia a ticking time bomb. But only eight countries have dementia strategies in place.

The report recommends nations set up programs that focus on improving early diagnosis, raising public awareness about the disease and reducing stigma, as well as providing better care and more support to caregivers.

There is no cure for dementia, but health officials say a great deal can be done to support and improve the lives of people with dementia, their families and caregivers, concluded the VOA report.

THE END

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