|
> > >
Parkinson's Disease and related disorders
Most of us take for granted that we can
move easily, walk across a room, sit in a chair, or simply sit
still. For people with Parkinson’s disease and related
disorders, like progressive supranuclear palsy, these
activities are difficult due to degeneration of relatively
small regions of the brain. These conditions are known as
hypokinetic movement disorders, because when the person wants
to move, the movements are slow, or even non-existent. Some
people have the opposite type of movement disorder
(hyperkinetic) where they seem to be constantly moving. An
example of this is Huntington’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease
Patients with Parkinson’s disease are slow to move
(bradykinetic), have rigid limbs with a tremor at rest, and
difficulties with gait and balance that predispose them to
falls.
It has been known for some years that dopamine neurons
degenerate in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease,
and we are working towards a new blood test that can detect
the loss of these neurons with certainty, possibly even before
people get symptoms. The program is called “Diagnosing
Early Dopamine Cell Loss or DEDCeL” and we believe
that this test will be important to identify people for early
treatment.
In addition, we are working towards understanding all the
brain changes in patients with this disease and how these
cellular changes interact to cause the problem.
We know that for some people their
genes may contribute to their susceptibility to get
Parkinson’s disease. We are looking at how these genes
influence the disease process in these people.
Finally, we are also looking at the
history of Parkinson’s disease in order to discover
potential cultural and social factors that may be important
for the disorder.
Is there help
if I have this condition?
There is a voluntary organization which
provides information and helps affected families –
Parkinson's Australia Inc., c/o-
Parkinson's New South Wales Inc., Concord Hospital,
Bld 64,
Hospital Road,
Concord NSW
2139, Phone: (02) 9767 7881, Fax: (02) 9767 7882, Email:
parkinsonsnsw@bigpond.com,
Web:
http://www.parkinsons.org.au
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Patients with progressive supranuclear palsy have a great
variety of symptoms, with some of the most disabling being
postural instability and frequent
falls, difficulty swallowing and speaking, slowed
movements, and difficulty in moving their eyes in a downwards
(or upwards) direction (known as a supranuclear gaze palsy).
Other difficulties may include emotional or personality
changes, sleep disturbances, and cognitive losses such as
mental slowing, forgetfulness, and difficulty with abstract
reasoning. In order to find an effective treatment for this
disorder, we must understand the progression of this disease,
a major focus of our current research.
Is there help if I have this condition?
There is a voluntary organization which provides information
and helps affected families – Email:
pspsupport@ozwide.net.au,
Web:
http://groups.msn.com/PSPAUSTRALIA1/
Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease is an inherited disease, passed from
parent to child through a gene abnormality, resulting in
programmed degeneration of certain brain cells. The symptoms
are uncontrolled movements, loss of intellectual faculties,
and emotional disturbance. Our contribution is part of an
international program to document this disease better and
understand its impact on the brain and the consequences for
the person. We participate through our
Brain Donor
Program.
Is there
help if I have this condition?
There is a voluntary organization which provides information
and helps affected families –
Australian Huntington’s Disease Association (NSW) Inc,
Elsie Court Cottage, 21 Chatham
Road, West Ryde, NSW 2114. PO Box 178, West Ryde NSW
1685, Phone: (02) 9874 9777, Fax: (02) 9874 917, Freecall
(Regional New South Wales): 1800 244 735, Web:
www.ahdansw.asn.au, email:
enquiries@ahdansw.asn.au.
Recent publications from this project
Macdonald V,
Halliday G (2002) Pyramidal cell loss in motor cortices in
Huntington’s disease. Neurobiology of Disease,
10:378-386.
Caramins M,
Halliday G, McCucker E, Trent RJ (2003) Genetically-confirmed
Huntington's disease without neostriatal cell loss. Journal
of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry,
74:968-970.
|
