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Parkinson's Treatment and the Urge to Gamble
Parkinsons DiseaseParkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disease of the substantia nigra, was first discovered and its symptoms ..... Think about the next time you join an exchange of views relative to parkinsons dementia. When you commence sharing the exciting facts down below, your buddy's will be absolutely amazed with your parkinsons dementia knowledge.
CHICAGO, July 11 (AP) - Joe Neglia was a retired government intelligence worker with Parkinson's disease when he suddenly developed a troublesome gambling habit.
After losing thousands of dollars playing slot machines near his California home several times a day for nearly two years, Mr. Neglia says he stumbled across an Internet report linking a popular Parkinson's drug he used with compulsive gambling.
Equipment For MobilityTaking care of personal needs can be extremely frustrating for senior citizens, or anyone with mobility issues. Many suffer the indignity of ..... "I thought, 'Oh my God, this must be it,' " he said. Three days after stopping the drug, Mirapex, "all desire to gamble just went away completely."
"I felt like I had my brain back," he continued.
A Mayo Clinic study published yesterday in July's Archives of Neurology describes 11 other Parkinson's patients who developed the problem while taking drugs for the disease from 2002 to 2004. Doctors have since identified 14 additional Mayo patients with the problem, said Dr. Maryellen Leann Dodd, a Mayo psychiatrist who was the lead author of the study.
Mobility VehiclesThere would not be much excitement in life if you had to spend it sitting in a chair or lying in a bed every day. Relying on somebody else to ..... "It's certainly enough for us to be cautious as we are using it," Dr. Dodd said. "We wouldn't want them to have some kind of financial ruin or difficulties that could be prevented."
This article's coverage is as complete as it can be today. But you ought to always leave open the potentiality that future research might unlatch new pieces of evidence.
Dr. Leo Verhagen, a Parkinson's specialist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago who was not involved in the study, said he and some colleagues all had a few patients who had developed compulsive gambling while taking Mirapex, a drug that relieves tremors and stiffness.
The behavior usually disappears when the drug dose is lowered, Dr. Verhagen said. He praised the Mayo article for raising awareness for doctors and patients.
Mr. Neglia, 54, now living in Millersville, Md., was not treated at Mayo or involved in the study. He said the problem was underreported "because of the embarrassment factor," and he is one of several patients suing Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, maker of Mirapex, accusing the company of failing to adequately warn patients about the potential side effects.
Katherine King O'Connor, a spokeswoman for Boehringer-Ingelheim, said there was no scientific evidence suggesting that Mirapex caused the problem.
The company revised Mirapex's package insert this year to include compulsive behavior among potential side effects after receiving rare reports - all after the drug was approved for use in the United States in 1997, Ms. O'Connor said.
Information On Parkinsons DiseaseThe primary cause for developing the Parkinson's disease is the widespread damage of the dopamine-producing cells in a person's ..... Mirapex was among top-selling Parkinson's drugs last year, with more than $200 million in sales in the United States, according to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical information and consulting firm.
The drug reduces tremors and the slow, stiff movements that are a hallmark of Parkinson's disease. It belongs to a class of drugs that mimic the effects of dopamine, a brain chemical that controls movement and is deficient in Parkinson's disease.
The Mayo Clinic patients included a 68-year-old man who lost more than $200,000 at casinos over six months and a 41-year-old computer programmer who became "consumed" with Internet gambling, losing $5,000 within a few months. Dr. Dodd said Mayo doctors now ask patients using the drugs if they have suddenly taken up gambling.
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Parkinsons Disease SignParkinson's disease affects millions of people through out the world everyday. This affliction affects not only the people .....
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