Sept_13

RBIT . HEALTH BYTES
The earlier, the better
This disease may have no possible
cure but early detection can
lead to a better control of its
symptoms. Dr Rahul Shrivastav and
his team at Michigan State University
have now developed a detection
mechanism that can diagnose
Parkinson’s disease at a very early
stage. The disease begins at around
the age of 60, but symptoms gradually
occur much earlier. Shrivastav’s technique
of detection involves the study
of speech patterns, analysing the patterns
of tongue and jaw movement.
According to him, changes in speech
patterns are one of the first symptoms
noticeable before the disease affects
other muscles and movement. This
is also the point where any treatment
aimed at controlling symptoms
would prove most effective. This new
detection method is inexpensive,
non-invasive and more than 90 per
cent effective, requiring a minimum
of two seconds of speech. A disorder
of the nervous system, Parkinson’s
mostly affects senior citizens, but is
rising in prevalence among Indians
as young as 35 to 40 years old. Almost
7-9 million Indians are affected by
this disease that begins with shaky
limbs, slow movement and loss of
balance and coordination. In previous
studies, the National Institute
of Mental Health and Neurosciences
(NIMHANS) had indicated that
17 per cent of silvers living in
old-age homes have Parkinson's.
However, according to recent reports,
Parkinson’s is severely undertreated,
with doctors completely missing
the early symptoms in at least
25 per cent of patients.
Double benefit
Those who have been managing
their risk factors for vascular
diseases stand a better chance of
preventing, or at least delaying
dementia, reveals a new study
from the University of Pennsylvania.
By following simple, positive
habits such as a heart-friendly diet
and daily exercise, patients with
symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease
and other memory-related ailments
are at a reduced risk of developing
dementia earlier on. Previous studies
have shown that cerebrovascular
diseases affect blood circulation in
the brain, and are linked to dementia
and other related disorders, more
so with Alzheimer’s disease. The research
team at the Perelman School
of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania,
found that the incidence of
Alzheimer’s patients with vascular
diseases is higher than those with
Parkinson’s or those without any
memory-related disorders, revealing
a link between Alzheimer’s and
vascular conditions. The results are
based on data collected from
5,700 case studies—80 per cent of
those with Alzheimer’s disease also
had obvious symptoms of vascular
diseases; of those who had no
memory ailments, 67 per cent had
vascular disease.
Stroke is one of the leading
causes of death among Indians;
almost 51 per cent of deaths
are due to hypertension. New
research by the ophthalmology
department of the National
University of Singapore (on
2,900 patients over a period of
13 years) suggests that it is possible
to figure out if you are at a
risk of developing a stroke from a
retinal imaging analysis of blood
vessels in the eye. Retinal imaging
could work wonders as it is a
non-invasive method to calculate
the potential risk of strokes in
people with high blood pressure.
18 harmony celebrate age september 2013