NEW ORLEANS -- Parkinson's Disease is being diagnosed more often as the baby boomer generation ages and while most people know about the shaking and stiffness, many are unfamiliar with another symptom that can scare patients and their families.
Now there is now hope through a new treatment for Parkinson's Disease Psychosis.
Registered nurse, Jody Wade knew her elderly mother Ruth Ketcham, 91, had Parkinson's for years, but then something besides the movement problems began to happen.
"It started off, you know, with little benign, you know, animals in the house, mice. It did escalate quickly and she became very fearful," said Wade, 54, of Northport, New York.
She would call 911 because she was convinced she was seeing strangers on her roof, and exterminators would be called to her house, but see no evidence that rodents were living throughout her home. Her mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease Psychosis.
"She's not mentally ill. It's not dementia. And don't, you know, don't really engage in an argument with her trying to convince her that, you know, there's not animals in the house," Wade explained.
Dr. Daniel Kremens, Neurologist and Co-Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, said Parkinson's Disease Psychosis is "perhaps one of the most devastating non-motor symptoms" associated with the disease.
Doctors say, of the one million American's with Parkinson's, they believe half will develop PD psychosis. Now there is a new drug recently FDA approved to help the hallucinations. Ketcham was one of the first to use NUPLAZID when it was being studied.
"A month after starting it, things were just so much better," Wade said. "She had an occasional hallucination. It was something that we would be able to bring her out of."
"One of the really exciting things about this drug NUPLAZID, is that it can treat those psychotic symptoms without worsening the patient's motor function," said Dr. Kremens.
"On an emotional level as a family, I can tell you that we're just so very grateful that we've had these years with my mom," said Wade about her mother being able to stay in her home longer.
Once Parkinson's patients go into nursing homes, they are more likely to die sooner. This new medication has been found to keep patients in their own homes longer.
To learn more about NUPLAZID visit Acadia Pharmaceuticals website. For more information on Parkinson's, visit The National Parkinson's Foundation's website.
Video:
http://www.wwltv.com/news/health/new-treatment-for-parkinsons-disease-psychosis-shows-promise/324856812
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