Parkinson's Unity Walk 2019

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Aga Khan University Hospital Parkinsons Unity
Walk 2019
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• Parkinson's disease is spreading at an alarming
  rate in Pakistan and
• the number of patients with the neurological
  movement disorder is
• now over 450,000. Moreover, a large percentage of
  patients are
• unaware that this disease can be managed if
  diagnosed in time.

• The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) organized
  a walk to raise awareness about
• Parkinson's disease on Sunday, 24 February 2019.
  The event is hosted every year at
• the AKUH in partnership with the Pakistan
  Parkinson's Society (PPS). Parkinson's is a
• neurodegenerative brain disorder that progresses
  slowly in most people, slowing
• down movement of a person causing limbs to shake
  and tremble. In most cases,
• symptoms take years to develop and people live
  for years with the disease without
• any significant issue or problem.

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• It is necessary to create awareness, regarding
  this degenerative disease
• owing to which patients lose motivation both
  physically and cognitively.
• Anxiety is common amongst Parkinson's disease
  patients because of the
• fear of not remembering things and becoming
  immobile.

• Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can help reduce the
  symptoms of tremor, slowness, stiffness,
• and walking problems caused by Parkinson's
  disease, dystonia, or essential tremor.
• Successful DBS allows people to potentially
  reduce their medications and improve their
• quality of life. DBS is a surgery to implant a
  device that sends electrical signals to brain
  areas
• responsible for body movement. Electrodes are
  placed deep in the brain and are connected
• to a stimulator device. Similar to a heart
  pacemaker, a neurostimulator uses electric pulses
  to
• regulate brain activity. Talking on DPS Mr. Ehsan
  Bari, Assistant Professor Neurosurgery said
• "Parkinson's disease is now curable by educating
  them and through surgery." Dr. Ehsan Bari,
• Assistant Professor Neurosurgery.

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• Living with Parkinson's disease can be difficult
  and the condition poses
• many challenges, however, there are ways that you
  can manage it to make
• your everyday life more comfortable. "Parkinson's
  disease patients are close
• to our hearts, although its not clinically
  curable but we can fight this disease
• by educating them, so they can have a normal
  life," said Dr. Shazad Saleem,
• Service Line Chief Mind Brain at AKUH.

• There is no Parkinson's specific diet. The goal
  of nutrition is to achieve good
• quality of life by eating nutrient dense foods
  and addressing all those problems
• that inhibit the patient to eat well and achieve
  nutritional adequacy.
• "Good nutrition is inexpensive and with wise
  steps, balanced diet can be
• successfully in cooperated," said Ms. Sidra,
  Dietician at AKUH.

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• This year, AKUH's Parkinson's Unity Walk also
  featured panel discussion
• by specialists including neurologists,
  psychiatrists and neurosurgeons.
• Experts talked about the methods which are
  helpful for the patients to
• manage this disease. The panel also answered the
  questions from the
• public and delivered consultation at the highly
  subsized health camp for
• PKR 100.

• In addition to the quaternary care hospital in
  Karachi, AKUH has a network of 4 secondary care
  hospitals,
• over 25 Medical Centers, and over 260 Clinical
  Laboratories in over 115 cities across Pakistan.
• It also has a network of pharmacies and offers
  home healthcare services. AKUH is Pakistan's
  first Joint
• Commission International accredited hospital
  which is the gold standard in quality and patient
  safety.
• Its clinical laboratories are accredited by the
  College of American Pathologists (CAP) for fast
  and accurate lab testing.  ?

You can visit
https//hospitals.aku.edu/pakistan/