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Hi Alison! I've been meaning to get in touch with you. I presented the bacteria theory at my last visit to Emory, but Dr. Ray Watts, my regular neuro, had moved to Alabama. The new doctor only spent a few minutes with me. I will try to get the contact info for Dr. Watts. In the meantime, I wonder if your friend has looked into the Fast Track grants at the Fox Fdn. http://www.michaeljfox.org/news/pressrelease.php?id=70 Hope you & sister are doing well. I think Mort has abandoned me - nothing in months! Peggy <*]]>< "Where there is no vision, the people perish." --Proverb ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alison Landes" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 9:57 AM Subject: Re: ARTICLE: Parkinson's Patients Find Simple Exercise is Often The Best Medi... > Hi Murray, > Thank you for reprinting this article. It just came out in today's paper. > Another article came out last week in the Boca Raton Times and Boca Raton West. > Cindy, has been volunteering with us for over a year and several months ago > volunteered to do an exercise class, which she does professionally, for us that > meets twice a week. We will be paying her to lead 4 other classes, as the > one class has been well received. We want to keep the classes small so she can > individualize. We invite caregivers to participate and that has worked out > very well. The group is in a circle, there's lots of eye contact and interaction > and wonderful rapport with the instructor, Cindy. > > We have several exciting things coming up over the next several months... > some of which can be implemented on a national level. We've got the word out for > a volunteer to help with updating our web site so we can get the information > updated more timely. > > Thank you and as mentioned before, welcome back. > > Alison Landes > Founder/ President > Take Charge! Cure Parkinson's, Inc. > 1489 W. Palmetto Park Road Suite 442 > Boca Raton, Florida 33486 > Tel: 561.620.1970 > E-mail: [log in to unmask] > www.cureparkinsons.org > > > > In a message dated 8/20/2003 8:48:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time, > [log in to unmask] writes: > > > > Subj:ARTICLE: Parkinson's Patients Find Simple Exercise is Often The Best > > Medicine > > Date:8/20/2003 8:48:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time > > From:<A HREF="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]</A> > > Reply-to:<A HREF="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]</A> > > To:<A HREF="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]</A > > > Sent from the Internet > > > > > > > > Parkinson's patients find simple exercise is often the best medicine > > > > By Diane C. Lade > > Staff writer > > Posted August 20 2003 > > > > Boca Raton · They march around a circle of chairs swinging their arms, then > > they stop and tap their toes to one side > > then the other. > > > > Sure, it seems simple. But for patients with Parkinson's, a neurological > > disorder that can make it impossible to hold a > > pen, being able to move with confidence is the equivalent of crossing the > > finish line. > > > > "My balance is much better," says Shirley Hirstein, 74. She parks her cane > > under her folding chair and doesn't pick it > > up once during the one-hour exercise class held twice weekly in the > > gymnasium of Sugar Sands Park. > > > > Olie Fernald decided to give the workout a try when he noticed his leg > > muscles and left arm weakening; he is sure he > > has seen an improvement. > > > > "And his posture is so much better," says his wife, Jeanne. She's one of > > several family members who has joined > > relatives in the class, where the patients range in age from 40s to 70s. > > > > Basic exercise for Parkinson's patients often takes a back seat, clinicians > > have found, as treatments focus on drug > > therapies or pioneering procedures such as deep-brain stimulation, which > > plants an electronic device in a patient's > > brain. There is no cure for the disease, caused by the degeneration of nerve > > cells in the brain and affecting about one > > out of every 200 people. > > > > Doctors might order short-term speech or physical therapy shortly after a > > Parkinson's diagnosis, as the disease twists > > and stiffens muscles so patients shuffle or have trouble speaking clearly. > > But insurance coverage for therapy usually > > quickly runs out, the patients say. > > > > Medicare, which covers Americans age 65 and older, is supposed to institute > > a $1,590 annual limit for speech and > > physical therapies combined beginning Sept. 1, unless sessions are in > > hospitals or their outpatient clinics. > > > > Yet a simple routine including walking, strength training and stretching can > > keep Parkinson's patients healthier and > > happier, those who work with them insist. > > > > "The group that exercises has the least motor fluctuations and take the > > least amount of medications," said Carol > > Eickhorn, coordinator of the Debby Sanderson National Parkinson's Disease > > Foundation Care Center at North Ridge Medical > > Center in Fort Lauderdale. The center, sponsored by the Florida Department > > of Health, has offered a twice-weekly > > exercise group since it opened five years ago. > > > > Eickhorn attended a symposium last year where Janet Reno, the former U.S. > > attorney general and Florida gubernatorial > > candidate who has Parkinson's, talked about how she still loved kayaking and > > her daily walk. > > > > "We are high believers in exercise and we make sure they are moving," > > Eickhorn said. "I can't prove it on paper that it > > works, but I see it." > > > > Cindy Brooks, the certified health-fitness instructor leading the Boca Raton > > classes, says several of the group members > > now can get through a session without their walkers or canes. "I've seen > > huge differences just in their confidence," > > said Brooks, who is volunteering her time to Take Charge! Cure Parkinson's, > > which sponsors the classes. > > > > Alison Landes of Boca Raton founded the nonprofit group in 1999 after her > > younger sister, Fran, was diagnosed with > > Parkinsons in her 40s. > > > > "For years, we tried to find out what was wrong with Fran and everyone kept > > telling her she was fine," said Landes, who > > wants Take Charge! fund-raisers to raise money for research and educating > > others about the disease. "I want to do > > something to help find a cure." > > > > She started the Sugar Sand class five months ago and hopes to add an extra > > twice-weekly exercise classes in September, > > as well as eventually expand into other Palm Beach and Broward county > > community centers. > > > > So far, there has been no major research looking at the effect of exercise > > on Parkinson's, said Dr. Bernard Ravina, a > > program director with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and > > Stroke. > > > > But participants in what few studies have been done did say exercise kept > > them mobile, allowing them to continue > > routine activities such as cooking and caring for themselves, said Ravina, > > who works with clinical trials. "But if they > > stop exercising, the benefit wears off quickly," he said. "So they need to > > continue." > > > > Ravina also thinks exercise groups benefit patients in different ways than > > support groups do, and that working out > > together can bond them closely. > > > > A real estate executive who had loved tennis and biking, Fran Landes today > > concentrates on keeping her handwriting > > legible and her steps steady. She attends the Take Charge! exercise class, > > and just being with the others makes her > > feel less alone. > > > > "Support groups are good, but it's nice to do something besides sitting and > > talking," she said. > > > > Diane C. Lade can be reached at [log in to unmask] or 561-243-6618. > > > > SOURCE: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fl > > http://tinyurl.com/kl8i > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn