Main description:

As many as one million Americans, including Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali, suffer from Parkinson's Disease. Now, a leader in the fight against Parkinson's, Dr. J. Eric Ahlskog of the Mayo Clinic, has revised and updated his definitive guide for patients and their families.

Dr. Ahlskog offers a crystal-clear, nuts-and-bolts approach to the treatment of PD, distilled from more than 30 years of experience as a clinician and researcher. His goal is to educate patients so that they can better team with their doctors to do battle with the disease, streamlining the decision-making process and enhancing their treatment. To do this, Dr. Ahlskog offers a gold mine of information: How do I know if I have PD? What kinds of tests can I take? What medications slow the progress
of the disease? What if medications don't help my tremor? What kinds of movement problems may develop later? How can I cope with insomnia and daytime sleepiness, dizziness and depression, memory problems, paranoia, and delusions? Indeed, the book covers virtually every topic related to Parkinson's,
from sexual impotence and skin rashes, to the role of nutrition, exercise, and physical therapy. In addition, Dr. Ahlskog discusses brain surgery (though he urges that patients only consider this as a last resort) and such experimental therapies as stem cell transplantation and gene therapy. There are also lists of support and advocacy groups and Web sites that focus on Parkinson's.

The ultimate guide to symptoms and treatment, this thoroughly updated Second Edition is the first place patients should turn for reliable, easy-to-grasp information on Parkinson's disease.

Contents:

Acknowledgments ; 1. Background ; Part I. Basic Facts about the Brain and Parkinson's Disease ; 2. Primer on the Brain ; 3. Parkinson's Disease: Changes in the Brain and Beyond ; Part II. Parkinson's Disease: Diagnosis and Prognosis ; 4. How do I Know If I Have Parkinson's Disease? ; 5. Prognosis ; Part III. ; 6. Conditions Mistaken for Parkinson's Disease ; 7. Testing ; Part IV. The Cause and Progression of Parkinson's Disease ; 8. Clues to the Cause(s): Genes, Environment ; 9. Drugs or Strategies to Slow Parkinson's Disease Progression? ; Part V. The Movement Problems of Parkinson's Disease: Medication Rationale and Choices ; 10. Medications for Movement Problems (Gait, Tremor, Slowness): Background and Rationale ; 11. Starting Medical Treatment of Parkinson's Disease Movement Problems ; Part VI. Beginning Treatment of Parkinson's Disease: Medication Guidelines ; 12. Starting Levodopa Treatment ; 13. Starting Dopamine Agonist Treatment ; 14. Refractory Tremor Syndromes: <"Medications Don't Help My Tremor!>" ; Part VII. The Early Years on Medications ; 15. The First Few Years on Carbidopa/Levodopa Treatment ; 16. The Early Years of Parkinson's Disease If Started on Other Drugs ; Part VIII. Later Medication Inconsistency: Motor Fluctuations and Dyskinesias ; 17. Later-Developing Movement Problems: Motor Fluctuations and Dyskinesias Treated with Levodopa Adjustments ; 18. Supplemental Drugs for Motor Fluctuations and Dyskinesias ; Part IX. Other Treatment Problems: Not Just a Movement Disorder ; 19. Subjective Parkinson's Disease Symptoms Due to Dopamine Deficiency ; 20. Sleep Problems: Insomnia, Daytime Sleepiness, and Nighttime Disruptions ; 21. Orthostatic Hypotension and Other Causes of Dizziness ; 22. Depression ; 23. Thinking, Memory, and Dementia ; 24. Hallucinations, Paranoia, Delusions, and Problematic Compulsive Behaviors ; 25. Problems with Swallowing, Saliva, and Speaking ; 26. Managing Digestive Problems and Constipation ; 27. Urinary Symptoms ; 28. Sexual Dysfunction, Estrogen, and Menstrual cycles ; 29. Other Treatment Problems: Swelling, Skin rashes, and Visual symptoms ; Part X. Nutrition, Exercise, Work, and Family ; 30. Diets, Vitamins, Nutrition, Osteoporosis ; 31. Exercise, Physical Medicine, and Physical Therapy ; 32. Family, Friends, the Workplace, and Caregivers ; Part XI. Surgery and Procedures for Parkinson's Disease: Present and Future ; 33. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Other Brain Surgery for Parkinson's Disease ; 34. Experimental Treatments: Fetal and Stem Cell Implantation; Neurotrophic Hormone and Gene Therapy; Vaccines and Immunotherapy ; Part XII. Parkinson's Disease Information Services ; 35. Support and advocacy groups; the Internet ; Glossary ; Index