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. .