VANCOUVER, Jul 28, 1999 (The Canadian Press via COMTEX) -- New research shows
Parkinson's disease patients are more likely to get dementia and depression
-- and to die from those ailments -- than the general population.
That means doctors treating such patients must pay as much attention to
their mental state as to their physical symptoms, says a study presented
Tuesday to 2,400 delegates at the International Congress on Parkinson's
Disease.
Dr. Richard Mindham, a psychiatrist at the University of Leeds, told
delegates he conducted a 12-year study in which 83 Parkinsonians aged 40 to
80 were compared with 50 healthy subjects representing the same age range.
It found the incidence of dementia and depression was far greater in
Parkinson's sufferers.
The research data, still being compiled for publication, revealed that
patients with the worst forms of the disease were more likely to get
dementia, Mindham said.
During the study, 25 per cent of the Parkinson's group got dementia and
another 25 per cent had mental impairment. In the healthy control group, none
got dementia and 16 per cent developed mental impairment.
In the Parkinson's group, 60 per cent died, while 25 per cent of the
healthy group died.
Parkinson's used to be thought of as a disease that ravaged the body
while sparing the mind but newer research is now showing that dementia and
depression are frequently a feature of the disease.
Depression is thought to be not only a psychological-emotional reaction
to the disabilities associated with the disease but also a biochemical
symptom.
Dementia is believed to occur as a result of the death of brain cells
triggered by the disease.
Congress chairman Dr. Donald Calne said there is a tendency for
Parkinson's patients to acquire dementia or Alzheimer's disease, especially
if they have had Parkinson's for at least 35 years.
''There is also a tendency for Alzheimer's patients to get Parkinson's
symptoms,'' said Calne, director of the Neurodegenerative Disorders Centre at
the University of B.C. ''It's almost as if they converge at a certain
point.''
It is not surprising someone with a chronic neurological disease would
become depressed but scientists are now coming to the conclusion that
depression is a biochemical feature of the disease, he said.
''We're also seeing that depression may be a marker of a more
aggressive form of the disease,'' Calne said.
All of this is important for doctors treating Parkinson's patients
because they must remain attuned not only to physical symptoms but also the
patient's mental state to improve quality of life, he said.
It is estimated there are 100,000 people with the disease in Canada.
Copyright (c) 1999 The Canadian Press (CP), All rights reserved.
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