PARMA, Ohio — Rand Laycock has spent his life keeping time, both as a music educator and leader of the Parma Symphony Orchestra.
“I’ve been conducting for the most part, for the majority of my life,” said Laycock.
For 36 years, he taught music in public schools and spent 48 years conducting the orchestra. But 11 years ago, his rhythm changed when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“The main symptoms that I’ve had are a tremor in my right hand and what’s called dyskinesia, which are involuntary movements of my legs or my body in general,” Laycock said.
Initially, Laycock relied on medication to manage his symptoms. But over time, the effectiveness of the medication began to fade.
“The problem with medication is eventually you either have to keep upping the dosage or increase the number of doses during the day. That became an issue,” he said.
That’s when Dr. Michal Gostkowski, a Movement Disorder Neurologist at Cleveland Clinic, introduced Laycock to Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation or aDBS.
“Throughout the day, your stimulation goes up and down, as your symptoms change,” Gostkowski said. “The overall benefit is very stable, and the patients who’ve gotten it find that their symptoms are much better.”
The innovative technology uses real-time brain signals, making adjustments throughout the day.
While not perfect yet, Laycock is optimistic about the treatment. “It’s a work in progress, but it gets better each time I get it tweaked,” he says.
“Parkinson’s disease is not a death sentence. It’s simply a chronic disease that you have to manage and control,” he said.
With the help of cutting-edge technology and a dedicated team of doctors, Laycock is still conducting, in life and in music.
This news item came from: https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/health-and-medicine/2025/07/28/conducting-life-and-music-with-parkinson-s-disease
