Parkinson’s Awareness Month

Did you know April is now Parkinson’s Awareness Month? As of March 26th this year, the senate passed a resolution to designate April as the month of awareness for this disease, which is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. This provides a new opportunity for not only raising awareness but to hopefully help those who have the disease.
In the Drake curriculum, pharmacy students do not get exposed to this disease until Principles of Drug Action III (PDA III) which takes place in the spring semester of P2 year and then the next spring semester of P3 year for Therapeutics. It would be reasonable to assume that for this reason, it may not be a topic that all pharmacy students know well, yet a designation of a whole month to raise awareness shows the importance for all pharmacy students to be aware of it.
As previously stated Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease, one that affects the dopamine neurons in the brain. This disease causes disruptions in the ability of a person to make body movements. Currently there is no cure and treatment is aimed at controlling symptoms and slowing progression. It is partially for this reason that there was a designation of a month of awareness for this disease. In the senate resolution, the senate stated that they support the ongoing research for improved treatments and eventual cure of this disease.
As of right now since there is no cure, it is wise to be aware of the more common symptoms and features of Parkinson’s disease. A nice pneumonic, taken from the current book for therapeutics, is TRAP. T would represent tremor, which can look like a patient is rolling a pill between his/her fingers. R is for rigidity that can either be a general stiffness or a cogwheel rigidity. The cogwheel rigidity can be felt in the supported elbow of a patient’s relaxed arm as you flex and extend their forearm. A stands for akinesia, which is the absence of normal motor function resulting in impaired muscle function; the patient may also present with slowed motor function, which is known as bradykinesia. Finally P stands for postural instability. The patient may not be very stable standing due to the rigidity and akinesia and may compensate by leaning over in a tripod fashion or having to brace his/herself on objects.
There may be other signs and symptoms a patient may experience or display, but the above four mentioned are the most common to look for. By being able to recognize at least these four symptoms, it may allow you to recognize a patient suffering from Parkinson’s disease who comes to the pharmacy complaining of these symptoms. You may not be able to diagnosis, but you will be able to advise the patient to seek further care, which will hopefully allow them to have a better quality of life sooner then had they continued to be unaware of their possible condition.
For more information about the senate resolution, I encourage you to visit the National Parkinson Foundation’s website.


Sources:
• Chisholm-Burns, Marie et. al. Pharmacotherapy: Principles and Practice. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2008.
• “U.S. Senate Designates April as Parkinson’s Awareness Month.” parkinson.org. 2010. National Parkinson Foundation. 25 April 2010. .

Health Fair

On February 27th, Drake University in collaboration with Southridge Mall participated in a student-organized health fair. Twelve pharmacy organizations and 101 pharmacy students participated in the event. Each organization was responsible for at least one screening or information table by assuring there were not only supplies but people to man their booth as well. Screenings were held together in an empty store located within the mall while information tables were set-up throughout the mall. There was a total of over 400 screenings performed during the event. Below is the number of people screened for each event:
-Cholesterol: 95
-Blood Pressure: >80
-Bone density: 121
-Blood sugar: 104
-Monofilaments testing: 2
-Heart Burn Screenings: 37

This is the first year that an event like this has taken place and, in my opinion, it was a very successful endeavor. Not only were people screened and educated on their health, but it also demonstrated how well the whole college of pharmacy and health sciences was able to come together to put this together. It required input from all organizations, and without this teamwork it would not have taken place.

It is encouraging to see how well the students can come together to put on an event, since we are the future of the profession. I often hear how important it is to be a leader and have adequate leadership skills, but just as important is the ability to work together as part of a team. Pharmacy is not a solo profession and you will always have to work with others. When you see students work together to put on an event such as this one, you know that the future of the profession is a bright one.

I hope I am not alone in saying this, but hopefully this health fair was not just a one time deal and will happen in future years.

Jasmine Cessna
PharmD Candidate 2011
jasmine.cessna@drake.edu

Campus Conference

While being a member of IPA and APhA-ASP I have attended several state and national pharmacy events and meetings. I have gained so much insight while attending these and always feel that I need to tell everyone what I have learned. This year after attending the APhA-ASP Midyear Regional Meeting in Omaha, NE I decided I wanted to bring the student programming to campus. Hopefully by doing this I would be able to give students a small introduction to what state and national meetings offer. I know that getting more students to attend these conferences would make a huge impact for the students and Drake’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

So in order to try to get more excitement for these meetings I held a “Campus Conference”. At the APhA-ASP Midyear Regional Meeting I realized all of the speakers and round tables I attended were all topics that could be covered by our awesome faculty and students! Therefore, I asked for help from them to help plan this professional event. Topics that we covered included: Exploring Leadership, Patient Care in the Community, Navigating Post Graduate Opportunities, Delta Rx Internships, Preparing for the Future in Pharmacy, Pharmacy Policy & Advocacy Debate, and Rotations Expectations.

We had 115 students register to attend the Campus Conference. It was held in the Cline Pharmacy building on a Saturday. Now that students have attended this Campus Conference I am hoping they see that this is just a small part of the pharmacy world and hopefully this will encourage them to attend state, regional, and national Conferences to further their experiences.

Jordan Ruestman
APhA-ASP President
PharmD Candidate 2011
Jordan.Ruestman@drake.edu