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Morphine pumps are used when a patient is in extreme pain. These devices are not usually used in PD and can cause loss of function in PWP. ---------- Mary Ann (CG Jamie 68/28 with PD, died 11/20/07) www.bentwillowfarm.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nic Marais" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 4:00 AM Subject: Re: Check out How a dog helps treat Parkinson's | The Sun |Woman|Health|Health > Morphine pump?? > > Is there something about this disease that I don't know about yet?? > > Nic 59/17 > > > On 22 August 2011 19:02, <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> _How a dog helps treat Parkinson's | The Sun |Woman|Health|Health_ >> ( >> http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/health/health/2970830/How-a-dog-helps-tr >> eat-Parkinsons.html) >> >> >> >> ASTONISHED medics have revealed a remarkable treatment for Parkinson's >> disease - a PET DOG. >> Incredible improvements in a 28-year-old woman with the brain disease >> have >> been credited to her pooch. >> Three years after being diagnosed, she was taking large doses of four >> different drugs a day to control symptoms. >> She also had a morphine pump for 14 hours a day and was deteriorating >> fast. >> But after being given a highland terrier by a friend, doctors reported >> major improvements in symptoms and a drop in the drugs she needed. >> Amazingly, she no longer needed her daily morphine. >> Doctors at Imperial College London, who report her case in the Journal >> Of >> Neurology, said: "Remarkably sustained benefits occurred, with >> improvement >> in her walking and symptoms including appetite, sleep and bowel >> function, >> as well as socialisation." >> Docs are unsure how the dog had such a dramatic effect, but they say >> that >> having to walk, feed and look after the pet encouraged her to exercise >> regularly. >> One theory is that the responsibility of looking after the dog and the >> exercise involved may have had an effect on dopamine, the brain chemical >> involved in both the movement and thinking areas of the brain. >> It is the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain that leads to >> Parkinson's and some drugs used to treat it stimulate areas of the brain >> that >> produce the chemical. >> Allergies >> Having the pet may have led to a stimulation of dopamine-producing cells >> in a similar way. >> It is the first time these kind of effects have been reported in >> Parkinson's, but pets have been shown to have other health benefits too. >> And it's not just dogs. Cats, rabbits and even goldfish can cut the risk >> of allergies in children, lower the chances of developing hayfever and >> reduce blood pressure. . . >> HEART ATTACK: Having pets lowers the risk of dying after a heart attack >> by three per cent, according to a report from Purdue University in >> America. >> ALLERGY: Children exposed to two or more dogs or cats during the first >> year of life were 66 to 77 per cent less likely to have any allergies, a >> study >> at the Medical College Of Georgia, USA, found. >> DEPRESSION: Researchers at the University Of Missouri found levels of >> serotonin increased after owners stroked their dogs. Antidepressants work >> by >> increasing levels of the same brain chemical. >> HAYFEVER: The allergy, which effects around 15 per cent of people in the >> UK, is 30 per cent lower among cat owners, according to Japan's Himeji >> Medical Association. >> ECZEMA: Children with dogs in the home for the first three years of life >> were half as likely to develop eczema, Marshfield Clinic in America >> found. >> BLOOD PRESSURE: One study at the Baker Medical Research Institute, >> Australia, showed pet owners had significantly lower blood pressure than >> non-owners. >> OVERALL HEALTH: Older people with dogs make 21 per cent fewer visits to >> a >> doctor than non-owners, research at the University Of California >> showed. >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> 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