MAKING the most of what’s available, rather than clinging to unrealistic hopes, is the best way to live with Parkinson’s.
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So says one of the guest speakers at a public lecture on the condition being held in Albury on Thursday.
Simon Lewis, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, said when he began Parkinson’s research in 2000, people said a cure would come within five years.
“Well, those five years went, the next five years came,” he said.
“People are doing research all over the world; it’s not wrong that we should be giving people hope, but the problem is you have to be able to see past that.
“I think the answer is that we should focus on what we have here and now and stop looking at what things may happen.”
He pointed out in the 1950s, a person diagnosed with Parkinson’s had an average life expectancy of about six years.
“With the treatment that we have today, relieving symptoms, most people can expect to live their natural life,” he said.
Professor Lewis and Associate Professor David Finkelstein will talk at the seminar being presented by Parkinson’s Victoria and The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.
They will discuss the developments in treatments in recent years and forecast what can be expected in the future.
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition that affects about 70,000 Australians. Symptoms may include muscle rigidity, tremor, postural instability and bradykinesia (slowness of movement).
Professor Lewis said although there was no known cure, physiotherapy, speech therapy and brain training could help lessen the impact of symptoms.
While some patients followed this advice, others seemed to think “I’ll do that stuff when I get bad”.
“We all know prevention is better than cure so why wouldn’t you do it the other way around?” he said. “And of course it’s because it’s quite confronting and a lot of effort.”
The professor hoped the forum would counter the many theories found online about Parkinson’s.
“I’d rather people leave knowing what is true and what isn’t true rather than clinging to the idea, ‘Well, I’ll go back and take that goat serum’ or whatever they’ve found,” he said.
- The Parkinson’s seminar will be held at Albury Entertainment Centre on Thursday, doors open at 5.30pm. Free for Parkinson’s Victoria members (plus one guest) or $15 a person for non-members.