Raising Australian awareness of Parkinson’s Disease is the aim of Griffith physician DrTien K. Khoo, following new research showing that the early onset of symptoms can lead
to earlier diagnosis and better care of the condition.

Completed while working at Newcastle University in the UK, Dr Khoo’s study shows thatwhile movement problems are the main symptom of Parkinson’s Disease, even early in its
course, people frequently experience many non-motor symptoms such as drooling, anxietyand constipation.

“These problems affect a large number of patients and begin sooner than previouslythought,” said study author Dr Khoo. “Earlier diagnosis could lead to earlier treatment and
therefore allow patients to have a better quality of life.”

In the study, published this week in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of theAmerican Academy of Neurology, researchers compared 159 people with newlydiagnosed
Parkinson’s disease to 99 people of similar ages who did not have the disease.

Participants were asked whether they experienced any of the 30 non-motor symptomsscreened for, including sexual problems, sleep problems and gastrointestinal problems.

“Often people don’t even mention these symptoms to their doctors, and doctors don’t askabout them, yet many times they can be treated effectively.”

The people with Parkinson’s disease had an average of eight of the non-motor problems,compared to three non-motor symptoms for the people who did not have the disease.

 

The most common symptoms

Among the most common symptoms for those with Parkinson’s disease included drooling,urinary urgency, constipation, anxiety and a reduced sense of smell. These were allsignificantly more common in people with Parkinson’s disease than in those without thedisease.

Now working for Griffith University’s School of Medicine, Dr Khoo said he is aiming toraise awareness of Parkinson’s Disease in Australia by developing local research to raise
understanding of the disease’s mechanisms and improve its current therapies.“There is still much work to be done in understanding the disease’s presentation in
patients and its various clinical manifestations, as well as how it impacts on quality of lifeand functional wellbeing.

“Parkinson’s disease is a common condition that has a predilection to the elderly. It isimperative we improve our understanding and treatment of this chronic disease, especially
in Australia where the ageing population continues to grow. The latter will require acollaborative effort from patients, carers, doctors, academics and the relevantorganisations. ”

Dr Khoo said he is engaging with local Parkinson’s charities in a bid to further his work.Judy Ashford OAM, president of the Parkinson’s Society of the Gold Coast welcomed the
publication of the study.

“The more we learn about the symptoms, the better we cansupport people living with Parkinson’s,” she said. “Improving quality of life is the aim of
Parkinson’s associations and Dr Khoo’s findings will assist our work greatly.”

 

This study was published in the January 15 2013 print issue of Neurology, themedical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The abstract is available
at: http://www.neurology.org/content/80/3/276.abstract?sid=ae5d5abc-1078-47aab51d-0283bbcfa73f.