Latest update February 24th, 2025 9:02 AM
Too many patients diagnosed late with Parkinson’s disease – Neurologist – but early screening could help with prevention
Dr. Iliana Lopez, GPHC’s Neurology Consultant
Patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease are almost never diagnosed at an early stage.
This is according to Neurology Consultant at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC] Dr. Iliana Lopez, who described it as “unfortunate” that many patients are not seen at an early stage of the disease.
Parkinson’s disease, commonly referred to as PD, is a neuro-degenerative disorder that affects predominantly the dopamine-producing neurons in a specific area of the brain called substantia nigra, according to medical experts.
Dr. Lopez, during an interview yesterday, revealed that the disease is diagnosed quite frequently following conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia, when it comes to neuro-degenerative disorders.
“We have been observing that we have an incidence and prevalence representing 12 percent of all the neuro-degenerative disorders that we assist,” said the Cuban-born Dr. Lopez who has been operating at the GPHC since 2016.
She disclosed that currently there are 52 patients suffering from the disease, who are attended to at the public hospital. The symptoms, according to Dr. Lopez, are progressive. According to her, the associated symptoms usually develop slowly over a period of years and are known to manifest mainly in the elderly, according to Dr. Lopez.
“We have only two patients younger than 60 [years old] and the rest are older and they are doing well,” said Dr. Lopez when asked of the age range of patients seen at the GPHC.
The symptoms of the disease usually include: slow movement or bradykinesia, uncontrollable shaking and tremors, stiff limbs, issues with balance and problems standing.
In essence, the quality of life of persons diagnosed with Parkinson’s usually deteriorates considerably, Dr. Lopez revealed.
However, in diagnosing a patient, she noted that “We choose to do some tests such as MRI, CT Scan of the brain in order to rule out other possibilities such as stroke… or head trauma which can produce damage in this area too.”
But once the disease is confirmed, Dr. Lopez admitted that treating a patient is costly. She, however, assured that the GPHC is able to offer patients diagnosed with the disease medical attention and pharmacological support free of cost to ease their suffering.
“We can significantly improve the quality of life of our patients…this is dependent on the early diagnosis, the prevention in the risk factors and the correct management. Our patients can stay alive a lot of years and with a good quality [of life],” Dr Lopez insisted. She informed too that “with the correct management, patients can live 10, 15 and even 20 years more.”
In addition to good medical care, the Neurologist revealed that a patient’s life expectancy is also dependent on exercise, rest, and the use of a high-fibre diet. She however highlighted that “Very, very important is physiotherapy, specifically for this condition. So the patient can gain an improved quality of life…”
Further, Dr. Lopez revealed that since there is no known cure for the disease, there are measures that can be employed to help reduce persons’ chances of developing the disease. Early physical screening, including eye and heart tests, could help medical experts determine an individual’s risks of developing the disease. In fact, Dr. Lopez explained that screening is particularly important if a family member has been diagnosed with the disease.
“We need to follow the rest of the members of this family in order to do early diagnosis…,” said Dr. Lopez, who also revealed that persons exposed to herbicide and pesticide as well as some patients who suffer from encephalitis [an acute inflammation of the brain] are also predisposed to Parkinson’s.
Taking early action in some parts of the world can help to stop the disease in its track since, according to Dr. Lopez, a vaccine has been developed to help prevent it altogether. The vaccine, she explained, is intended to destroy the neurons which are known to cause Parkinson’s.
According to an online article ‘Vaccine for Parkinson’s reports positive results from boost study’, published in 2016 on The Michael J. Fox Foundation website, a new study results from Austria biotech AFFiRiS support continued development of its vaccine against the key Parkinson’s protein alpha-synuclein. The article outlines that “researchers believe that clumps of this protein [also called fibrils] are toxic and cause the cell death that leads to Parkinson’s disease [PD] symptoms and progression.”
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