A neurologist named- David Standaert can often tell if someone has parkinson within a matter of minutes. Maybe their hand trembles and one of their arms doesn’t work as much as the other people. Maybe their sound seems softer than others.
A movement disorder specialist at the University of Alabama, he has been diagnosing people with the disease foe decades. A lack of specialists is just one of the problems that plagues parkinson diagnosis, and it has proved difficult in part because the disease is so complicated. Over time, and for reasons scientists do not fully understand.
Daily tasks that require a steady hand, such as getting dressed or putting on makeup, can be time-consuming, frustrating or even impossible. Tremors, muscle cramps and pain can interrupt sleep, both for people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones.
In an ideal world, doctors would be able to diagnose Parkinson’s disease and intervene at an early stage — when changes begin happening in the brain but before even the most subtle symptoms appear. The gap between the two could be 5 to 10 years, or maybe even longer It’s a pretty big time window, Poston says.
Identifying the cause of their symptoms can help people feel more in control of what’s happening, Poston says. The knowledge a diagnosis brings, she says, can be “a very powerful thing.
What are your thoughts about this? Have you ever experienced being with a parkinson patient, if yes how it feels to manage a daily life with them?
MBH/PS