I was surprised to be invited to give a talk to a Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. I’m not an expert on Parkinson’s Disease. My areas of expertise as a geriatrician are cognitive impairment, frailty, and caregiving. However, the group wanted a presentation about Parkinson’s Disease and COVID-19. In addition, as luck would have it, I recently attended a detailed Parkinson’s Disease lecture and had taken good notes.
I arrived on the day of my talk and found out that the support group includes people living with Parkinson’s and their caregivers. The meeting started out with a brisk exercise session led by an exercise therapist (more about her in another post). The exercise was fun and energizing and I joined in. I should have done a video!!
After the exercise, I gave a short talk. I’M SHARING IT WITH YOU TODAY AS EITHER A VIDEO (25 MINUTES) OR SLIDE SHOW (3-5 MINUTES)
Who Has Parkinson’s?
- Nearly one million will be living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the U.S. by 2021.
- Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with PD each year.
- More than 10 million people worldwide are living with PD.
- Incidence of Parkinson’s disease increases with age, but an estimated four percent of people with PD are diagnosed before age 50.
- Men are 1.5 times more likely to have Parkinson’s disease than women.
[Source https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Statistics]
- Part 1 (0:00 up to 9:02, slide 7) is a general review about Parkinson’s Disease
- Part 2 (9:03 up to 11:20, slide 11) describes exercises and virtual sites for exercise
- Part 3 (11:21 up to 18:19, slide 14) is about the impact of COVID-19 on patients with Parkinson’s
- Part 4 (18:20 up to 24:16, slide 16) is about caregiving issues.
Parkinson’s is not just a disease. It is also a disability. I like the innovative approach that the Dutch started and spread worldwide. It’s a team based approach called ParkinsonNet. Amy Compton-Phillips, M.D., executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Providence Health and Services in Seattle, is a former colleague of mine. She has this to say: “ParkinsonNet is the best example I’ve seen anywhere in the world that turns the transformational idea of interdisciplinary, team-based care focused on improving health into action.”
PS. I’m here to support you. Be connected, stay strong.
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