Guidelines for treatment of Parkinson’s launched

Karachi
Leading neurologists of the country launched a national guideline for the diagnosis and management of Parkinson’s disease on Saturday while reiterating that the fearsome neurological disorder was completely curable and manageable, provided it was caught in time and treated by qualified doctors.
The national guideline was issued in connection with World Mental Health Day 2015 observed on Saturday when the leading neurologists of the country emphasised the need for creating awareness about the dreaded disease among the masses. They said most of the physicians considered it to be an outcome of old age and were also not aware of the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and management of the neurological disease.
The guidelines for the treatment and management of Parkinson’s disease were prepared and launched by the Pakistan Society of Neurology (PSN) in collaboration the with Neurology Awareness and Research Foundation (NARF) at a ceremony attended by the leading specialists from across the country.
Dr Nadir Ali Syed, the main author of these guidelines, gave a brief outline of the Parkinson’s disease and the available treatment regime with standard protocols, keeping in view the local constraints with regards to disease management.
He said Parkinson’s was the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, after Alzheimer’s disease, and its prevalence in people more than 60 years was around 1.4 percent. He predicted the burden of Parkinson’s was likely to increase in the years to come since many countries, particularly those in Asia, faced a growth of the ageing population.
“The number of patients with Parkinson’s disease in Pakistan is unknown but according to an estimate, around 600,000 people suffer from this neurological disorder,” he said. “Unfortunately, half of these people are not aware that they have a serious neurological issue which can be treated and they can continue leading a normal life.”
Dr Syed said most of the general physicians and doctors of the country were also not aware of the symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment of the Parkinson’s disease in Pakistan, adding that the number of qualified neurologists having adequate knowledge of Parkinson’s was quite few, as compared to the growing number of patients.
He said Asia was experiencing severe poverty with more than 900 million people living below the poverty line. “These individuals have a consumption rate of almost 1.25 dollars per day,” he said. “Parkinson's was also ignored because an overwhelming majority of patients suffered from infectious disease as a result of lack of clean water and proper sanitation.”
Dr Syed further said the recent crises of devastating earthquakes, tsunamis and the loss of limited health care facilities would further deprive Asia from managing a disabling disease like Parkinson's. Moreover, he said, low support for elderly population was expected to have significant economic and social consequences, including negative impact on pension schemes thus affecting the healthcare of chronic diseases such as Parkinson's.
The chairman of the Pakistan Parkinson’s Society, Haroon Bashir, who himself is a patient of Parkinson’s, said there was a need to befriend the disorder and to live with it with all the available choices of treatment and management.
He said that besides training neurologists and physicians about the management of Parkinson’s, work should also be done to create hope among patients because it was crucial for a healthy recovery.