 |
 |
Actually, the Hoehn & Yahr Scale, as well as most other scales, were developed more for the research clinician rather than as something the patient and family would use. Scientists needed a way to more accurately define - for other scientists reading reports of their research progress - the levels of severity of the patients participating in a particular study. This is important so that as one reads through a report on a study on a drug being tested, readers can instantly know how progressed (or limited due to their symptoms) each study participant is and thus be able to better utilize the results from these studies. For example, if a report talks about a study using a drug on Stage 3 patients, one instantly can understand the basic level of disability these patients experience. Then, to read that this particular drug helped 50% of the study participants to revert to Stage 1 or 2, one can instantly understand the level of benefit derived from this drug. As the PD population became more educated and began seeking out more and more of the professional/scientists' level of materials, they became aware of these scales and some began using or referring to them as ways of assessing their own disabilities. Some even felt these scales offered a "typical" progression pattern of Parkinson's disease. Again, these are not the purposes for which these scales were designed. Jeanne Lee-Rosner PDF-Chicago