Some of you may recall that last January there appeared in this list some
reports on recent publications by Dr. Judit Mally of Erszebet Korhaz in
Sopran, Hungary and Professor T.W. Stone of Glasgow University on
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). The researchers found that
following a week's treatment with TMS, the various Parkinson symptoms,
particularly bradykinesia improved and the benefit lasted for up to 6
months. I decided to follow it up.
I found that the papers had appeared in respectable journals. I couldn't
trace a Web Site relating to Dr. Mally, who had actually administered the
treatment(tell you about her later), but it was easy for me to discover
the credentials of Professor Stone. I found that he is a world renowned
neuropharmacologist with almost 300 papers to his name and has edited 11
books on the topic. See
http://www.neuroscience.co.uk/staff/twstone.html
I was satisfied that this wasn't hocus pocus and decided to follow it up.
Now I have been to Sopron to try out TMS and in this report I will first
give you the basic facts.
1.TMS
TMS is a hot topic of research. It involves the generation of pulsed
magnetic fields and applying the resulting electrical stimulus to the
brain. Many studies have found that depressed subjects who are resistant
to other therapies, respond to TMS and its value in treating depression is
fairly well established. There are various other areas where research is in
progress, but before the work of Mally and Stone, I have been able to
trace only one paper relating to Parkinson. For more information on TMS see
http://www.biomag.helsinki.fi/tms/
2. Who Am I?
I am not setting out to advertise myself, but you are bound to be wondering
about my connection with Parkinson. I will be brief. I was trained as a
mathematician, worked mostly on computer modelling in physics, drifted into
computer graphics and am now fairly well known as an expert on Islamic
art. I have also lived a very vigorous physical life and until 3 years ago
was convinced that I had worked out the most sophisticated system for
beating old age that any human had ever devised. You will find more details
about me on my Web Pages (address at the end).
I am now 63. I celebrated my 60th birthday by jogging all the way to the
summit of the highest mountain in North Wales. The next summer, while on a
climbing holiday in the French Alps I began to notice a slight tremor in my
right hand. In June 1998, I was diagnosed as having Parkinson. I was of
course shattered. How the hell could it happen to me?
But I have recovered and have been more creative and excited since
Parkinson than before. In my case, Parkinson may yet turn out to be a
blessing after all. I am deeply aware that despite prodigious increase in
human knowledge, despite the Internet, despite the trip to the moon, human
culture at its core remains the stuff of dark ages. Humans have no
holistic rational model for thinking about themselves. I have developed
such a model and am now using it to try and beat Parkinson. If I succeed
then it will validate 20 years of thinking. I will publish my algorithm for
dealing with Parkinson if and only if I succeed. All I can say at this
stage is that highly sophisticated electrical stimulation of muscles and
electro-magnetic stimulation of the brain will be key components in my
method.
3. TMS in Shopron
I arrived in Shopron on Sunday 20th February and started receiving
treatment on 21st, twice a day. There were 14 other persons receiving
treatment that week, two of them spoke English. I decided to interview all
of them and here is a factual description of
what I found:
Age range of the cohort: 54..77
Period of Parkinson diagnosis: 1year ....10years
The number of times received TMS: 1....8
At the end of the treatment, I asked them to allot a mark between 0 and 5
to indicate change in 3 conditions:- tremor, slowness and mental
functioning. 0 indicates no change and 5 indicates dramatic recovery. (It
needs to be said that the results of TMS, generally start showing up the
week following. Also, Dr. Mally told me that about 1/3 rd do not respond).
Tremor: 3(0) (3 said no change) ; 3(1); 5(2); 3(3)
Slowness: 5(0); 1(1); 3(2);
Mental functioning: 8(0); 2(1); 1(2); 1(3); 1(4); (one person reported
getting a headache);
2 persons told me that they were able to reduce the dosage of drugs after
receiving TMS.
What About Me?
I have a problem here. I had been put on Ropinirole and was taking 15mg
per day. Dr. Mally advised me to drop Ropinirole and prescribed low doses
of Madopar, Selegiline, Sinemat CR, Kemodrin and Rivotril. I feel greatly
improved in every way. But I cannot be certain as to how much of it is due
to TMS and how much due to new medication.
About Dr. Mally?
I hadn't been able to find out much about Dr. Mally but she is a very
experienced and knowledgeable pharmacologist and has a sharp eye for
Parkinson. She has published about 40 papers. She is utterly devoted to the
welfare of her patients and is a very caring doctor. I would consider
myself lucky to be treated by her even if she wasn't offering TMS.
I have given you the facts and now some opinions.
I feel that the pioneering work of Mally and Stone is of great significance
and needs to be repeated under strict conditions by other researchers.
Furthermore, it is only a start. There are many questions that need
answers and the methodology needs to be refined. I have no doubt that TMS
works for some persons. I myself saw 2 persons change quite dramatically,
but this is an opinion and I cannot rule out placebo.
Do You Want To Try TMS?
Dr. Mally is very busy with her clinical work and research. I have agreed
to liaise with her to do the administrative work in arranging treatment in
Shopron. It will not be ethical to discusss costs and other such matters in
this list. If you want to receive TMS then you should (i) get the approval
of your physician (ii) email me to get details and be placed on a list.
Jan Abas
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Dr.S.J.Abas
School of Mathematics
University of Wales, Bangor, UK LL57 1UT
tel: 01248 382478
Fax: 01248 383663
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/JanAbas
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/IslamicArt
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