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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