 |
 |
Tom, Brian, Ida and others, Brian wrote: > I believe that a pallidotomy, > effectively turns down the gain of the feedback signal, thus making a > better match to the feeble signal from the Parkinsons-affected brain. > Similarly, closing your eyes frees the brain from having to cope with > another possibly conflicting signal. Note: If you have had a Pallidotomy > the eye-closing routine might have a quite different effect, since the > Pallidotomy and the eye-closing may be additive, subtractive, or simply > the pallidotomy may swamp the eye-closing effect. In my experience mild to medium strength dyskinesias (not to mention many PD symptoms per se) can be reduced by a range of comfort giving activities. These include emptying the bladder, putting on sunglasses on a bright day, taking off uncomfortable footwear, getting out of the heat in summer, getting into the warmth in winter, adding or removing clothing as required by temperature changes. NOTHING, other than waiting it out, helps with strong dyskinesia. My speculation as to why this is so runs along the lines of Brian's 'conflicting signal' comment. Since reading Tom's question I have tried a few experiments on myself and one other person, with the following results. In my own case (and like Ida I have had a pallidotomy) I found that closing my eyes resulted in a distinct pause in the mild dyskinesia I am experiencing at present during my short 'on' periods. However, within 30 seconds the dyskinesia re-established itself and continued on its merry way. It is clear that closing the eyes has some effect on dyskinesia but just what mechanism is at work is a moot point. The results of my experiment with my friend were very interesting. He is a man of +/- 50 years of age who has had PD for over 10 years. He has not had surgery and, not being a member of this list, had no knowledge of this discussion. Seeing him experiencing medium level dyskinesia I asked him to close his eyes and keep them shut. This he did - with no discernible change in his dyskinesia. I then told him about this discussion and of course he immediately tried again. This time, to my amazement, his dyskinetic level dropped to mild. He opened his eyes soon afterwards so I have no idea how long the change would have lasted. I am well aware that the response of one subject to one brief experiment is hardly definitive but it does introduce the possibility of a placebo effect. Dennis +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dennis Greene 49/dx 37/ onset 32 There's nothing wrong with me that a cure for PD won't fix! [log in to unmask] http://members.networx.net.au/~dennisg/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++