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Surgery offers hope to Parkinson’s patients ...TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: Carmichael Road resident Katy Merchant vividly recalls the day when she suddenly froze in the middle of a presentation, a decade ago. It was as though her thoughts had gone blank and her words swallowed themselves up, though a hall full of mediapersons were waiting in anticipation.
That one episode was a turning point for Merchant, the then vice-president of the IMRB (Indian Market Research Bureau), the first sign that Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder, had hit home. From then on it was a painful journey, with cramps taking over her feet, her hand turning rigid and extreme pain forcing her to quit her successful career. On Thursday, Merchant, 66, sat with a group of Parkinson’s patients at Jaslok Hospital, exchanging day-to-day tidbits—“Will I be able to write properly again? We aren’t supposed to walk through a scanner, right?” Like Merchant, the group had undergone a high-tech surgery called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) which substantially improved their quality of life. The city already has some support groups, such as the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Society which will meet on Friday at 2 pm, but Merchant’s group will be the first offering specific support for those wanting surgeries. “I contemplated for two years whether I should undergo the surgery and had a lot of people deterring me. But since I couldn’t imagine a 24 X 7 life in bed and was taking pills almost every two hours, I decided to undergo the procedure,’’ said Merchant who hasn’t regretted it. In fact, she has now decided to form an online support group for patients wanting to know more about the surgery, its ups and downs. Staunchly supporting her are others like gynaecologist Dr Uday Hiranjal or diamond trader Vimlesh Shah (42) who had uncontrollable tremors and was among the earliest patients to have undergone the expensive surgery in Mumbai, way back in 1999. The surgery could cost anything from Rs 5-10 lakh, but Shah was lucky to get help from the Mumbai Diamond Merchants Association which generously loaned him the sum. Parkinson’s is a debilitating condition without a cure, but modern medicines, surgeries and therapies such as yoga offer a ray of hope. “DBS is an option for patients when medical management fails to give results,’’ said Dr Paresh Doshi, neurosurgeon at Jaslok Hospital who operated on Merchant. In DBS, electrodes controlling the cells responsible for the symptoms are implanted into the brain under local anaesthesia. These are connected to a small electrical device that can be externally programmed. Another emerging treatment option for patients of Parkinson’s, says physician Dr Ashish Tiwari from Bombay Hospital is ozone therapy. “We have started it a fortnight ago and already have 20 patients on the roll. We have found that the symptoms of Parkinson’s, be it tremors or rigidity can reduce by 20 to 70 %,’’ said Dr Tiwari, adding that ozone therapy is a second-line treatment therapy, along with existing medicines. Anything is welcome, points out Sulabha Palshikar from Vile Parle whose husband suffers from the condition. “I only wanted him to retire from his job as chief civic engineer with dignity,’’ she recalls the nightmarish time he had completely bent over because of the disorder. PARKINSON’S DAY Parkinson’s Disease is a motor-system disorder, which is caused by the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain Symptoms include trembling of hands, legs, jaw or other body parts, limb stiffness or loss of balance It’s more common in those above 50 years of age It affects 8-20 in every 10,000 people Katy Merchant runs a support group for victims of the disease |
