 |
 |
My condolences to Joe's family and friends. Such a sad story, as well as a cautionary tale to those of us who have PD or care for someone who does. Nothing will take away the tragic loss of Joe, but finding some answers to what went so horribly wrong might help. Was there any suspicion of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome? Again, my condolences. Carole H. --- judith richards <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Many of you will remember the story of Joe > Bruckbauer, who was co-leader > of the Parkinsons Young Onset group here in London, > Canada, until his tragic > death in January. Joe's wife, Donna, has now > received the official reports > on Joe's death, and thought they should be shared > with the Parkinson List. > Joe was only 57, and the coroner's report says > he appeared "younger than > recorded 57 years." > He was healthy in every respect except for his > Parkinsons, which had > forced him to leave his job a few months earlier. He > had taken part in a > test of Mirapex, one of the new drugs which came on > the market later, and > had been on Amantadine, Tasmar and Requip, at > different times, shortly > before his death. > He had suffered periods of severe dystonia and > hallucinations > immediately prior to his hospitalization, and had > been sent to a psychiatric > ward after an emergency admission. > We (Joe's friends) had suspected that the number > of different drugs Joe > had been given, and possibly the amounts, > contributed to his death, and we > now feel the official reports confirm this. > The medical jargon may be difficult for most of > us to interpret, but > here, in a nutshell, is what the coroner's report > said: > There is no evidence of diffuse Lewy body > disease in addition to > Parkinsons. > "There was evidence of relatively recent > infarcts in multiple > territories of the brain, suggesting embolism. These > lesions, perhaps in > conjunction with drugs he may have been taking for > his Parkinson's disease, > may constitute the structural basis for the > hallucinations." > That may explain the hallucinations, but does > not say what killed Joe. > In his post mortem report, the coroner says: "An > anatomical cause of > death has not been demonstrated," but the official > cause of death is "apneic > seizure" and "by what means": "natural." > Apparently to explain the cause of the seizures, > a Neuropathy Report > says: "Some infarcts are present in the CA-1 sector > of the hippocampus and > in the white matter of the frontal lobe. The infarct > on the hippocampus can > be dated since it shows complete loss of neurons, > accompanied by prominent > microglial proliferation and gliosis, without > cavitation. Thus, this infarct > must be more than a week old, but less than at most > a few months of age." > (If anybody can clarify this in laymen's terms, > we'd be happy to hear > from you.) > Privately, the coroner describes the cause of > death as "emboli in the > brain." > An interesting, although perhaps inconclusive, > section of the reports > comes from the Centre of Forensic Sciences, and > concerns Amantadine, one of > the drugs Joe was taking in the later stages: > "The detected level of Amantadine exceeds > concentrations associated with the > therapeutic administration of the drug . . . Whereas > central nervous system > toxicity including nervousness, confusion, > hallucinations, seizures and > coma, has been associated with plasma concentrations > of 0.1 to 0.5 mg/100 mL > . . ., fatalities attributed solely to Amantadine > have been associated with > blood > concentrations of 2.1 mg/100 mL . . . . and > greater." > Joe's Amantadine level was 1.3 mg/100 mL. > (During the two days before > his death, Joe's Amantadine had been reduced > significantly.) > We still don't know what combinations or levels > of drugs caused him to > die, if indeed the drugs were the culprit. > Again, our heartfelt thanks to all who shared > our sorrow, and especially > to Janet who posted Joe's story on her web site. > > Donna Bruckbauer <[log in to unmask]> > Al and Judith > -- > Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada > [log in to unmask] > ^^^ > \ / > \ | / Today’s Research > \\ | // > ...Tomorrow’s Cure > \ | / > \|/ > ``````` > _____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Free instant messaging and more at http://messenger.yahoo.com