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CANADA: Ministers come together in the name of "Parkinson's Disease" Parkinson Society Canada hosts the 8th Annual "World Parkinson Day". TORONTO, Apr 21, 2004 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) -- The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of State for Canada, and the Honourable George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for Ontario helped Parkinson Society Canada (PSC) host an international event today. The 8th Annual World Parkinson Day was celebrated in Toronto, bringing key members of the Canadian Parkinson's community together with government and World Health Organization (WHO) representatives, to raise awareness and understanding of the issues associated with Parkinson's disease and to announce Parkinson Society Canada's development of a new resource for family physicians caring for people with Parkinson's. "Hosting World Parkinson Day 2004 presents a unique opportunity for Parkinson Society Canada to elevate the awareness and understanding of Parkinson's, and to open a dialogue with government, medical professionals and other partners interested in collaborating over the long-term to ensure the best quality of care for people with Parkinson's", says Barry Johnson, Chair of Parkinson Society Canada. Mary Baker, Chair of the Parkinson's Disease Working Group of the World Health Organization (WHO), spoke about the impact of Parkinson's disease on a global scale, and presented the WHO's Global Declaration of Rights for People with Parkinson's Disease for signing to Barry Johnson of Parkinson Society Canada and Dr. Anthony E. Lang, a renowned Canadian neurologist and expert on Parkinson's disease. Tom Pitfield served as Master of Ceremonies. He is the son of Senator Michael Pitfield, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in the late 1980's and is the Honourary Chair of Parkinson Society Canada. World Parkinson Day began in 1997 and was conceived by the WHO's Parkinson Disease Working Group. Seven countries around the world have hosted this monumental occasion including United Kingdom, Argentina, Japan, Russia, Spain, U.S.A. and, most recently, India. The Global Declaration was launched in 2003 and promotes the WHO's Charter of Rights for People with Parkinson's. "By signing the Global Declaration, Canada demonstrates leadership in elevating awareness of the disease and the need for people with Parkinson's disease to have access to quality, specialized care," says Baker. The best care for Parkinson's disease is through a multi-disciplinary team of medical professionals, of which neurologists play a key role. They possess the specialized training and expertise to best diagnose, treat and manage the myriad of ever-changing symptoms associated with the disease. There are no laboratory tests to diagnose Parkinson's disease, only individual clinical assessment, thereby leaving room for frequent under-diagnosis and misdiagnosis. Diagnosis is best made by a neurologist, ideally a specialist in movement disorders, who is trained to conduct a clinical evaluation. Today, nearly 100,000 Canadians have Parkinson's disease and experts predict that this number will double by 2016. At the same time, preliminary findings of a recent survey of Canadian neurologists indicate that 20% plan to retire in the next 5 years, and a further 10%-20% plan to reduce their work hours. With current new graduate rates, the study predicts a 3%-5% decline in practicing neurologists over the next 5 years, with continuing shortfalls in the years to follow. As access to specialists becomes more limited, family physicians will experience an ever-increasing demand to become more knowledgeable about Parkinson's disease so that they are able to better diagnose and manage more aspects of their patients' care. "We are bringing the issue forward with the hope that key stakeholders can come together and start talking about long- term solutions," says Johnson. In the meantime, we're looking at ways to provide support where it will have the greatest benefit to people living with Parkinson's now." Parkinson Society Canada announced the development of the Medical Education and Support Program today as a preliminary effort to enhance the knowledge of Parkinson's disease among family physicians as they care for their patients with Parkinson's. "We expect to launch the program later this year and know that it will immediately impact the quality of care that people with Parkinson's experience today," says Johnson. Parkinson Society Canada is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the national voice for Canadians living with Parkinson's disease. Its mission is to ease the burden and find a cure. Parkinson Society Canada helps improve the quality of life for people living with Parkinson's disease through research, education, advocacy and support services. 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