By: Andrew Hollick

Published on the website of NORTH WESTERN University in Chicago

 Mood, not movement, may be the biggest challenge for Parkinson's disease patients.

An ongoing study involving over 6000 Parkinson's patients in 4 countries found that anxiety, depression, and negative behavior had the greatest impact on all disease indices examined.

The study was conducted by the National Parkinson Foundation. Pain, speech and motor activity were also examined.

"Depression is common in Parkinson's patients," says Dr. Tanya Simoni, professor of neurology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. This hospital is one of the hospitals participating in the study. "This is not an individual weakness." The study conducted in the USA, Canada, Israel and the Netherlands examines Parkinson's patients using the PDQ-39, a scale of a 39-question questionnaire that covers 8 areas of quality of life, including motor status and mood. This test is the most common for checking the health status specific to Parkinson's disease.

About one million Americans are living with Parkinson's disease today, with this number expected to double by 2040 as the population ages.

"This is a chronic disease and people have to learn to live well with it," she says. Experts claim that a holistic approach is the best way to improve the quality of life.

Get involved in your treatment

"The first thing is that patients should report if they have a problem with mood and memory even if their caregivers don't ask about it," says Dr. Zoltan Marie, director of the National Parkinson's Disease Foundation Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins Hospital. "They think that the therapist and the doctor will ask everything that is important to know about the patient. Such an approach could lead to insufficient attention to these issues," he says.

"You have to educate yourself" says Shamin Ahmed, a Parkinson's patient who lives in BARRINGTON. "You have to learn more about the disease and then you can monitor it yourself. It's your body."

"You do better with something you know better" says Marie.

Physical activity Physical activity Physical activity

Parkinson's patients who engage in frequent physical activity have reported greater mobility, less need for a caregiver and a higher quality of life. They also reported lower levels of depression.

Daniel Korkus, director of the Neurological Laboratory for Movement Control at the University of Illinois at Chicago, that physical activity should include 3 areas: cardio, strength and stretching. Korkus says there are aerobic exercises for every stage of Parkinson's disease including cycling, walking, elliptical machines and swimming. He says that lifting weights slows down the decline in strength and can lend itself to brain, muscle and bone activity.

"You don't get the same results just from aerobic exercise," he says.

Simoni, also director of the Center for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders says that tai chi has shown to restore balance. She says yoga and pilates may also help with muscle flexibility and mental health. Korkus says it is important for each patient to find the routine activity that works for them and repeat it. Ahmed says her daily exercise routine includes lifting weights at the YMCA for 15-20 minutes and another 45 minutes of limb stretching. She says she varies between yoga and the treadmill to improve cardio.

take your medicine

Due to the great variation between Parkinson's patients, the recommended medication varies from patient to patient and from doctor to doctor. The most common drug treatment is carbidopa levodopa, which regenerates dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a brain neurotransmitter that affects mobility, learning and memory, pleasure and motivation. It treats both movement and mood. Ahmed and Mrs. Sham since she was prescribed the drugs, the differences are like night and day. "I haven't missed taking a single medication" she says "take your medications routinely and don't skip a single dose".

Maintain a daily routine

"The basic principle that guides me is that doing something and being physically and mentally active is better than doing nothing," says Marie. "If you're active, you'll feel much better in 10 years than if you weren't active," he says.

Simoni claims that patients discover their creative side: painting, sculpture and poetry. She says that singing helps Parkinson's patients improve the strength of their voices.

Beyond hobbies, Ahmed says that Parkinson's patients need to push themselves more to perform everyday tasks such as taking the dishes off the dining table after the meal and avoid help as much as possible. "It's just a fact for Parkinson's patients, you don't use, you lose," she says.

Don't face it alone

"One doctor, no matter how dedicated, cannot deal with a complicated and multifaceted disease," says Marie. He says, the evaluations show that treatment by a doctor is beneficial for Parkinson's patients. Physiotherapy and psychological therapy, among other things, also help. If the patient does not have access to experts in these fields, he can use support groups, he says.

"It was a big help just seeing other people who have the same issues as me" says Ahmed. "If you isolate yourself and lock yourself away, then you are in big trouble."

"When you can talk to someone, it helps a lot."

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