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"It doesn't work for everyone" is certainly true of all PD meds...I wonder why. How depressing. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Meg Duggan" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 7:18 AM Subject: Re: apopmorphine > Apomorphine is an injectible rescue therapy, trade name Apokyn in US. > Didn't do very well at launch, mainly because FDA insisted that patients > recieve training from neuros via several office visits. I believe that > Bertek had the drug at launch but has since sold it off. Not sure who > owns > rights now, but I could certainly find out. I know a couple of people that > use it to kick on, not cheap and doesn't work for everyone. Meg > > -----Original Message----- > From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network > [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of rayilynlee > Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 10:55 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: apopmorphine > > > Anyone know anything about this drug? > > I WON'T BE BEATEN BY PARKINSON'S > EX-CHAMPION BODYBUILDER IS LIFTING WEIGHTS AGAIN AFTER 15 YEARS THANKS TO > REVOLUTIONARY COMPUTERISED DRUG BELT > By Samantha Booth > A FORMER champion body builder, who was crippled by Parkinson's disease > for > 15 years, has had his life transformed by pioneering treatment. > Fitness fanatic Michael Thompson, 59, won Mr Inverclyde and Mr East of > Scotland titles until he was struck down by Parkinson's at the age of 44. > Crippled and confined to a wheelchair by the age of 57, Michael's once > active life was destroyed by the disease. > But now, after receiving the groundbreaking drug Apomorphine, Michael is > back lifting weights again. > He hopes his experience can help lead to a major breakthrough for > thousands > of other sufferers. > Parkinson's disease, which affects one in 500 people across Britain, had > left the former champion bodybuilder suffering from uncontrollable > tremors. > But after becoming only one of a handful of people across the UK to try a > pioneering treatment, Michael is walking - and even lifting weights. > Michael, of Greenock, has a special pump on a belt around his waist which > gradually releases a drug into his stomach to control his tremors. > Parkinson's has been had a high profile in recent years with celebrities > such as Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox among the four million sufferers. > After an agonising 13 years of suffering, Michael's doctor recommended > Apomorphine two years ago. > Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition caused by the death of > nerve cells in the base of the brain, called neurons. > These nerves usually produce a chemical called dopamine that is used by > the > movement centres of the brain to maintain smooth and fluid movement, and > as > Parkinson's disease progresses, they slowly degenerate or die off. > The brain loses its ability to produce dopamine, causing sufferers to lose > control of their body and muscle movement. > They experience uncontrollable shaking, stiffness in the limbs and > slowness > of movement. > Apomorphine is often given to sufferers who have had Parkinson's for 10 to > 15 years, when tablets no longer work. > The drug does not cure the disease but controls the shaking and stiffness > by > imitating the action of dopamine and helping the brain transmit signals to > control body movements. > It can be used either as an intermittent injection to manage temporary > lapses in control of the condition, or, as in Michael's case, by > continuous > infusion through a computerised pump. > The drug was discovered in the Fifties, but it was not until the Eighties > that it was used both in the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's. It > has > only been used for continuous infusion in recent years using the > computerised pump. > After initially getting a specialist nurse to fit the pump every morning, > Michael's wife Elizabeth, 60, now does it herself. > She gives Michael a four mg dose of the drug every morning through a > syringe > which is fitted to the pump. The pump is connected to a line which is > inserted into the skin on his stomach. > The computerised device, tied around Michael's waist, gradually releases > the > drug into his body over the next 12 hours. > Dr Roger Barker, an expert on Parkinson's disease from Cambridge > University, > said the drug was only used when other treatments were no longer > controlling > the condition. > But he stressed Apomorphine was not a cure, simply a way of managing the > symptoms. "The disease will carry on progressing, and most people will > find > several years into the treatment that they will start to break down > again," > he said. > "They will usually get a few good years and then move on to whatever drug > is > available next. They will stay on it until the drug is not working any > longer, or they start getting side effects." > Potential side effects include confusion, skin irritation or feeling sick > or > faint. > Elizabeth said: "I don't want people to think Michael has been cured > because > he hasn't. He still has Parkinson's disease. This is just a way of > managing > it. > "Every morning, he can hardly move at all until I give him the drug. Once > I > have put it into the pump, it takes half an hour to an hour for it to kick > in, and then he is much better for the rest of the day. > "At night, he can lie in bed hardly able to move at all." > But Michael is delighted at the improvement. Before he received the > treatment, people often thought he was drunk when he fell down in the > street. > One day, when he was out with his four-year-old granddaughter, Michael was > shocked to be accused of being drunk. > He said: "One guy said to me: 'That is ridiculous. You in charge of a > little > girl when you are drunk'. > "I replied: 'You're wrong. I suffer from Parkinson's'. It is amazing how > many people can be cruel and think that you are drunk." > Elizabeth struggled to look after Michael as his symptoms became worse. > She > said: "Since he started on the pump, I have noticed a great difference in > Michael. > "The nurses wish they had taken a video of Michael before he got this pump > to compare it to how he is now. I hope other people will get to know about > this drug and it can help them too." > Although he will never be cured, the drug has given Michael a new lease of > life. > "Now I am able to go back to the gym to train, but I am only allowed to go > with a carer," he said. "They won't let me go back in on my own. > "When I get the pump put in each the morning it takes 30 minutes to an > hour > for it to work. After that, I don't even notice it for the rest of the > day. > Now I don't fall down in the street anymore." > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn