A group of experts is given appointment at the Sant Pau Hospital to address the management of patients with Parkinson’s disease advanced.
– there are an estimated in Spain affected 150,000 Parkinson (PD), figure that is expected to go on the rise as a result of the progressive aging population
-Even if the pathology is neurodegenerative and has a high impact on the quality of life of those affected, there are treatments that help to reduce symptoms and not engines which seriously hinder the lives of patients
Barcelona, March of 2013.- La unit of disorders of the movement of the service of Neurology of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau held last Thursday14 March, a day aimed at experts for training in the handling of continuous intraduodenal infusion of levodopa (Duodopa ®).
The day featured the participation of Antonia Campolongo, nurse specialist Parkinson of the movement disorders unit, and Dr. Berta Pascual, Deputy of the movement disorders unit. During the day, theoretical and practical aspects of the management of the patient will be treated with PD with continuous intestinal infusion of levodopa/carbidopa. Treatment is indicated for Parkinson’s disease advanced, and, thanks to its gel formulation, allows a custom administration resulting in an improvement of the quality of life and a gain of patient autonomy.
The Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona is a national benchmark in the treatment of patients with Parkinson’s disease advanced, and the only hospital in Catalonia that provides training in the implementation of the intraduodenal infusion of levodopa, through its specialized service of Neurology. According to Dr. Jaime Kulisevsky, Chief of the movement disorders unit the service boasts innovative technology in the treatment of Parkinson’s. This hospital is a pioneer in the home of the intraduodenal infusion of levodopa in day Hospital ”.
In the words of Dr. Berta Pascual Parkinson’s disease symptoms progressing as the years pass, and which can become disabling. In more advanced stages available treatments decrease and oral drugs lose effectiveness, necessitating the use of advanced therapies. Hence the importance of these formations, which help all know the possibilities of each therapy. Every patient needs a treatment suited and adjusted to your needs, because every Parkinson is different and unique. ”
Figure of the caregiver in this type of pathology is essential. At present, the role of the caregiver tends to be assumed by a person of the family of the afectado2. As the disease evolves, the patient loses autonomy, becoming increasingly dependent and generating an overload in the caregiver, that just being forced to leave other activities of your life2. In these stages, the benefits they bring advanced treatments to the patient have a positive influence on the quality of life of caregivers.
About Parkinson’s disease
The EP is a neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system that affects the area responsible for coordinating activity and muscle tone and movements. It is estimated that affected 150,000 people in spain1, figure that is expected to go increasing as a result of the progressive ageing of the population. This neurodegenerative disorder, the second most frequent, is of unknown cause and chronic and progressive course.
PD occurs when cells in the area of the brain, called substantia nigra ”, stop working and die. These cells are responsible for producing a substance called dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or chemical Messenger, that transmits the information to the brain areas that control movement and coordination. In patients with PD, the dopamine-producing cells begin to die, resulting in the reduction of the neurotransmitter in certain brain structures.
As the disease progresses, the conventional drugs lose effectiveness, necessitating the use of advanced therapies (deep brain stimulation core subthalamic or continuous infusions of levodopa or apomorphine). The benefits that provide these therapies the patient have a positive influence on your quality of life.
about continuous intestinal infusion of levodopa/carbidopa (Duodopa ®)
to expand the information about Duodopa ®, it is recommended to consult the datasheet of the product on the website of the Spanish Agency of medicines and health products.
Approaches of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, founded in 1401, is the oldest institution of the Spanish State, with six centuries of existence. It is a University and hospital of reference that focuses its action in Barcelona but covering all over Catalonia for certain complex diseases, as well as having remarkable impact in the rest of the State and international projection.
Each year more than 35,000 patients admitted and more than 145,000 emergency are addressed. Some 350,000 visits are addressed in the outpatient and day hospital, more than 75,000 users. Employs more than 3,000 professionals, and it has a structural capacity of 644 beds, 21 operating theatres, 60 emergency boxes and 136 points of day hospital.
In the field of the research activity puts the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau as one of the most important hospitals of Spain through the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sant Pau (Sant Pau IIB), Center that it includes the Hospital, its Research Institute and other research entities related by its proximity.
Referencia:
1. Spanish Parkinson Federation: report of activities 2010.
2. The situation of patients affected by Parkinson’s disease, their needs and their demands. Collection studies series unit No. 12009. First Edition, 2008. Institute for the elderly and social services (IMSERSO).
3 National Parkinson Foundation
4. Spanish Parkinson Federation: what is Parkinson’s disease?
5 Parkinson´s Disease Foundation
6. The Michael j. Fox Foundation for Parkinson´s Research.
