1st Geriatric SIG: Parkinson’s Disease
by Suhaila Usuludin ~ April 27th, 2008. Filed under: Geriatrics, Latest News, Neurorehabilitation, SIG.I attended the 1st Geriatric SIG yesterday after work at Alexandra Hospital. It was organised by the Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists (SAOT). The turnout was great. Most of those attended were students. I’m one of the few clinicians there. Nevertheless, it was nice to know each other, both clinicians and the students.
The SIG was about Parkinson’s Disease (PD). I didn’t know that cigarette smoking and caffeine are protective factors of PD! But whatever it is, cigarette smoking causes more harm than good. So don’t smoke! As for caffeine, take them in moderation. Some new things that I learn were the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale and Kingston Centre Model: 5 Principles. They are:-
- Movement is normal but requires activation.
- Each movement and cognitive sequence has to be broken into components.
- Concious attention to each movement and cognitive task is required.
- Cues are needed to start and maintain movement.
- Avoid simultaneous task: motor and/or cognitive.
The presenter was Natalie Chew, a principal OT from SGH. She gave us a few recommendations on biographies and books to understand the condition better. The ones I took down were:-
Biographies
Lucky Man: A Memoir by Michael J. Fox
The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers
Books
Parkinson’s Disease: 300 Tips for Making Life Easier
While searching in the WWW, I found these presentation slides useful. However, it focuses more on the physical area as it was meant for physical therapists.
I’m glad that I went for the talk as my knowledge on this disease expands through sharing etc. I hope to attend more of such SIG in future. 