1967. The discovery of the medication used most successfully to manage Parkinson's. Sad really. Look at how our world, our technology, developments in curing cancer, successful developments in HIV/Aids...to name a few...have dramatically evolved over my lifetime. And yet, 1967 is the last known successful development in the field of Parkinson's. It just does not make sense. Or does it?
The cause, method of testing. and a cure, are unknown. Most symptoms are not known by the average person. Thanks to Michael J. Fox, the disease has a face. Thank you to his foundation, money has been raised to fund research. But....isn't this a disease of the elderly? Is that why we have not made it a priority in the medical world? Just saying.
I had cancer, Hodgkin's Disease, in 1985. I underwent Chemotherapy and Radiation. At that time, the chemotherapy drugs were strong. And we didn't have the anti-nausea medications that we have today. Needless to say, my hair fell out, I was physically ill for a straight 48 hours after chemo, I had mouth sores, painful body rash...and the list goes on. And radiation...well....let me tell you about it. Pre radiation therapy, one had to go in and have beams of light map out the area of your body and then tiny pinhole tatoos (yes, the actual ink) to highlight the speficic area to be radiated. I still have these tiny tattoos today. And when the chemo was done, your hair growing, your body settling..radiation time.....ZAP, out came the hair, up came the stomach..and so it began, everyday, for three weeks. But fast forward to 2005. I am once again diagnosed with cancer. Breast cancer. The chemotherapy did not attack the body as it had, and wow, the anti nausea meds were a dream! The advancement in the treatment of cancer in 20 years was phenomenal. The chemo port that could be placed in your arm so as not to have a fight with the hardening veins each time it was administered was incredible. The torture that I had endured in the 80's, with trying to locate veins for each treatment, had become a thing of the past. Like night and day. I should also mention I had several surgeries thrown in there...a mastectomy, and then reconstruction. And believe me....the advancements for a cancer patient have been unmistakingly transformational with each and every new development. The funding and the research have made this possible.
And so why, in this day and age, are we still using the same drug of choice today for Parkinson's, that we did in 1967? Part of the obvious reason is that this disease is located within the brain. Finding a biomarker, that could lead to the "how", of Parkinson's is difficult when its prime location would be in a "working" brain. Stem cell research has also been promised as being just on the horizon....but while gene therapy, using stem cells, was found to reduce some cardinal Parkinson's Disease symptoms, mainly, dyskinesias (the abnormal involuntary movements) it is a far cry from a cure.
So, I have come to terms with the fact that Parkinson's is a progressive disease. I can't stop it...but I won't let it stop me. Education and awareness of the disease, the knowlege of symptoms to aid in early diagnosis, and keeping it in the forefront of medical notariaty with people like, Michael J. Fox, will, in the very least, bring attention to this affliction. Parkinson's is just one disease under the umbrella of Movement Disorders. MS, and Tourette's for example, will also benefit from medical breakthroughs.
So, all of this being in my own humble opinion, of course, is just a few of the reasons that I have begun this blog. Pass on the information. Teach. Fund.
Parkinson's... I have it....but it doesn't have me...yet..
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