Dear Paul,
[log in to unmask]
in response to some excerpts from your 14Jan1997 message:
> I too am interested in nonmedical alternatives...... I also do a
>lot of meditating, deep breathing, and focusing.....I plan on cutting down
>on the Sinemet.
Yes. Alternatives open up some hopeful options for us. Of course we
must always watch out for snake oil peddlers and mumbo jumbo fakirs.
That's not that much trickier than what we're doing already: staying on the
alert for dangerous drug interactions and unnecessary surgeries.
>I've heard a lot about T'ai Chi and improvement in PD symptoms. I need
>to refer you to an article in the 1st Quarter, '96 issue of Parkinson
>Report from the National Parkinson Foundation. In it a Dr. Schwartzman
>summarizes current Ideas pretty well, as far as I know anyway. Not only
>does he give some case studies (very positive: one man reducing his
>dosage) but mentions that the USC National Parkinson Foundation Clinic
>in Los Angeles is conducting a pilot study of T'ai Chi and Parkinsons.
I'm one of the case studies: the "47 year old woman", now nearly a 49er.
Dr. Schwartzman is an advanced student in my T'ai Chi class at UCLA. As
an MD, he became interested in how T'ai Chi might be helpful to people
with Parkinson's. We had a record turnout in our young-onset support
group when he gave a talk about T'ai Chi's potential. Our interest
propelled him
towards asking researchers at the University of Southern California
to conduct a pilot study.
The USC study was a great team effort, all volunteers:
Dr. Cheryl Waters, Director of their movement disorders program,
gave her approval and encouragement.
Dr. Mickie Welsh designed and conducted the study with great sensitivity
and an open attitude. Dr. Schwartzman found a T'ai Chi master who
volunteered to
teach a ten-week introductory class -- Dr. Alan Kan, a recently-retired
physicist who has been a well-loved and respected T'ai Chi teacher
of the Yang style for over 20 years. My role was as adminstrator, and
recruiter. I
forewarned the others that we'd be lucky if 10 people would sign on.
Surprise: sixty-five people came to the first class!
Our intent was to see if a "Western" scientific study would be worth
pursuing. That's still an open question, since any approach involving
meditation perhaps can never be quantified. The results of the pilot are
concrete
enough that the USC research team will present a poster at a neurological
conference in England in March.
Words and numbers are inadequate to express what happened in the pilot
study's class. I wish I could convey to you how it felt. There was hope
shining out from behind those PD masks. People who had given up on other
forms of exercise were finding fresh motivation. There was both a
perfect calm and an atmosphere of excitement in the room. A great part of
that was due to the skill of the instructor and his team of assistants,
including Leonard Schwartzman. But it was also clear that people were
looking for tools they could use on their own power with no
fear of side effects. They found T'ai Chi to be challenging, interesting,
relaxing, and fun.
>I live in a rural area without good access to T'ai Chi training so I am
>reduced to a book which
>seems pretty good (T'ai Chi Clasics by Waysun Liao - Shambhala 1977 and
>1990).
You've found what is probably the best book. Emilio Mercado, the San
Francisco PWP who demonstrated T'ai Chi at Alan Bonander's symposium, also
recommends "The Tao of T'ai Chi Chuan: way to rejuvenation" by Tsung Hwa
Jou. The Taoist T'ai Chi Society in Montreal has an introductory video
about their work
with people with Parkinson's -- including some Canadian members of this list.
Terry Dunn's videos are helpful, though nothing can substitute for a real
teacher.
The logistics of setting up PD-friendly T'ai Chi classes everywhere would
be more than our volunteer group could handle. We've encouraged people to
explore
possibilities in their own communities.
There's a T'ai Chi Listserve where you could ask about instructors in your
general area. They're a helpful group with connections all over the world.
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I could relay a message from you if you'd rather not subscribe.
About a hundred people have sent in requests for written materials in
response to Dr. Schwartzman's NPF article. After the study is presented
at the March meeting, we'll prepare some information to send to them.
I'll post it on the list if it's not too long.
Mary
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48/diagnosed 1990; 3 X 25/100 Sinemet; 50 mg Pamelor; t'ai chi; singing
