WORCESTER, Mass. — Dr. Wissam Deeb of UMass Memorial Health specializes in movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease. He says it keeps him busy, as it’s the second most common disease of its kind behind Alzheimer’s.
The brain disorder causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness and difficulty with balance and coordination.
“So Parkinson’s is a condition where a part of the brain which produces a substance called dopamine starts degrading faster than expected simply by age,” Deeb said.
What You Need To Know
- UMass Memorial Medical Center’s Dr. Wissam Deeb described Parkinson’s disease as a ‘scary’ condition.
- The brain disorder causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination.
- NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre announced he was living with Parkinson’s earlier this week.
- The Parkinson’s Foundation estimates more than a million Americans are living with the disease.
Dr. Deeb says symptoms of the disease like constipation, loss of smell and restless legs, can start as early as a decade before the shakiness even appears. Most develop the disease after turning 60.
The Parkinson’s Foundation estimates more than a million Americans are living with the disease, with the expectation of a 20% increase by 2030.
“A group of experts in Parkinson’s disease a few years ago published a paper calling it a pandemic of Parkinson’s disease because of the rate of increase in the last couple of decades,” said Deeb.
Patients can have problems with memory, attention, the ability to plan and accomplish tasks, stress and depression. But as Deeb points out, the disease has no known cure.
Post-diagnosis, the National Institute on Aging says there’s steps one can take to maintain as normal a life as possible. They highlight changes to make the home safer, equipment to make everyday tasks easier and social support as important factors in maintaining a safe life with the disease. They also point to medication, physical therapy and counseling as ways to manage the symptoms for a period of time.
Deeb says while there are still so many unknowns surrounding the disease, people can put themselves in a better situation by exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy diet and sleeping well.
“Coffee seems to be helpful, but we don’t know why,” Deeb said. “So, people who drink coffee seem to have a lower risk of having Parkinson’s disease. Is it related to the coffee itself or not? Nobody knows.”
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