Transcript Document

COPING WITH NERVOUS SYSTEM
DISORDERS I.E. PARKINSON’S
DISEASE
Darrell D. Anderson
Retired CEO, National Swine Registry
BRIEF BACKGROUND
 Born and raised on livestock farm in SW Minn
 South Dakota State University – BS Animal Sci
 Cottonwood County Extension Director – 5 yrs
 Auctioneer for many top llama & alpaca sales
 Spent 25 years at AYC/NSR breed associations
 Diagnosed with Parkinson Disease - Aug, 2003
 Life changed dramatically – family & staff
 Ultimately placed on medical leave July, 2011
SO WHAT IS PARKINSON DISEASE?
 PD is a complex neurodegenerative disease that affects the central
nervous system
 Second most common neurodegenerative disease behind
Alzheimer’s Disease
 Is not easily diagnosed, as there is no definitive test for it
 Affects approximately 1 - 2% of adults over the age of 60
 Equally distributed between men & women
 Anatomically PD is localized at the base of the brain
 Deterioration leads to insufficient production of Dopamine
 Electrical signals are disrupted resulting in impairment of the
functionality of multiple organs and systems
EARLY DIAGNOSIS ESSENTIAL
 Personal example – slight tremor in right hand. Finally
agreed to go see a neurologist at the “urging” of my wife
 Jokingly told the doctor, “I just wanted to be sure I don’t
have Parkinson Disease.”
 Twenty minutes later she informed that I did indeed have
Parkinson Disease and my life changed from that moment
 Immediate response was one of uncertainty and questions
 There were no known genetic ties and often aren’t
 Prominent cause of PD is not widely known yet
 Is thought to be more prevalent in agricultural industry
SYMPTOMS VARY AND MAY GO
UNRECOGNIZED FOR YEARS
 Asymmetric stiffness or weakness of extremities
 Tremor at rest of a hand or foot - loss of dexterity
 Unsteadiness of gait, rigidity & slowness in movement
 Loss of balance
 Weakening of voice in both clarity and volume
 Chronic and progressive - symptoms always exist and
always worsen over time
 The rate of progression varies from person to person
 Is not fatal - mortality is usually result of secondary
complications
COPING WITH ONE SYMPTOM
 Auctioneering concerns stemmed from voice weakening
 I began researching the web for possible advances in
treatment of this particular symptom of PD
 Stumbled across the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment
(LSVT) – actually developed at Purdue University
 Consulted with PD neurologist – he had heard about it,
but knew very little about it
 Pursued and discovered the following:
LEE SILVERMAN
VOICE TREATMENT FOR
PARKINSON’S DISEASE
CHARACTERISTICS OF PD
SPEECH
Hypokinetic Dysarthria
 Affects both speech and voice
 Decreased loudness
 Monotone
 Breathy voice
 Intermittent rapid rushes of speech
 Soft consonant production
(Boone & MacFarlane, 2000)
LSVT OVERVIEW
 Goal: To teach the patient with PD to improve
functional intelligible oral communication by
increasing vocal loudness
 Method: train high phonatory effort tasks
which stimulate increased vocal fold adduction
and respiratory support and have an immediate
impact on functional intelligible speech
FIVE ESSENTIAL
CONCEPTS OF LSVT
1.
Voice Focus
2.
High Effort
3.
Intensive Treatment
4.
Calibration
5.
Quantification
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE - LSVT
 After initial training by Purdue staff, voice clarity and
volume improved significantly
 Practice, practice, practice proved to yield good results
 When devoting daily practice to the techniques, it allowed
me to conduct very successful auctions – many four to
five hours in duration
 But one example of searching out and pursuing relatively
little known treatment for one PD symptom
OTHER RAMIFICATIONS OF PD….
 When you are diagnosed, your spouse also has the disease
 If not careful, depression can become a major issue
 Unknown progression of the disease is very concerning
 Friends and co-workers may have a variety of reactions to
the news of your disease
 Quality of life is reduced not only for you but also family
members that become care-givers
PERSONAL WORDS OF ADVICE
 Early diagnosis is a key to effective treatment
 Pursue all possible types of treatments, including LSVT,
physical therapy to address strength and balance issues
 Be aware of side effects of drugs prescribed for treatment
– many have serious addictive behavioral side effects, etc
 Be sensitive to reactions from family, friends & staff
 "Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give
myself reasons why I can."
FINAL ADVICE FROM THE “SOURCE”
 Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with
you; be not dismayed, for I am your
God; I will strengthen you, I will help
you, I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand