Parkinson’s is on the increase

Parkinson’s is on the increase

Dr. Philip Rutherford talks about his experience with Parkinson’s disease. April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month.
Cara Brady/Morning Star

By Cara Brady - Vernon Morning Star

Published: April 16, 2009 6:00 PM

In the fall of 2000, Philip Rutherford was a busy family physician in Armstrong. He noticed that he had an ache in his left arm and tingling in his left hand and when it didn’t go away, he saw his doctor and was referred to a specialist for tests.

“It was quite a surprise to be told at 44 that I had what I perceived to be an old person’s disease. I had Parkinson’s disease patients but they were all older,” he said. “It took awhile to sink in but I think I accepted it well. It’s a progressive disease and I know what’s going to happen.”

Rutherford said there is an increasing incidence of what is called young-onset Parkinson’s, before age 50, with some as young as 18 years old. Parkinson’s is a neuro-degenerative disease that happens when the cells that produce dopamine, a chemical that carries signals between nerves in the brain, die. Symptoms include tremour, stiffness and slowness, balance and muscle problems and others like fatigue, writing changes and sleep disturbances.

There is thought to be a genetic component to the disease in about six per cent of cases while other people may have some kind of predisposition that may be triggered by environmental toxins, infections, post-concussion or other factors. The use of illegal drugs can trigger Parkinson’s in some young people. The majority of cases are of unknown cause with no family history. Diagnosis is made by assessment by a neurologist and there is no cure, but medication can help reduce symptoms.

“I started to get a bit of tremour when I was stressed or anxious and I would limp when I got stressed,” said Rutherford.

“As a physician, you’re obviously aware of how you appear to your patients. I’d be self-conscious and there were certain procedures I couldn’t do. My writing was getting smaller and smaller and I had difficulty keeping patient records. Then there were the things like drooling. Patients don’t find that attractive. Sometimes they would ask me if I was feeling well.”

He and his wife, Carol, a registered nurse, talked to their son, now in his teens, about the disease and the changes. Rutherford loved his work and his patients and continued to practise until he had to make the difficult decision to retire last March.

“There is stress in living with a chronic disease. The medications are effective for controlling symptoms and they work for a time but almost everyone will have side effects or they will cease to be effective. Surgery is helpful for some people,” he said.

“I have had to recognize myself as having a disability and that’s a difficult process. I have become more empathetic and look at the person, not the disability.”

He finds regular exercise, like biking, hiking and cross-country skiing — he had to give up downhill skiing — are beneficial, and that it takes longer to do things like eating and dressing.

Rutherford is making it his project to work locally on the possible implications of environmental factors contributing to Parkinson’s disease. He was involved with the campaign to stop the use of pesticides on school grounds in Armstrong. He is also concerned about Fish and Wildlife Branch plans to use the pesticide rotenone in Gardom Lake to kill non-native species and re-introduce other species. He fishes at Gardom Lake and thinks that caution should be used with wide-spread use of any pesticide. He cites studies that link long-term, low-dose exposure to pesticides to a higher incidence of Parkinson’s disease and some researchers find a connection between exposure in the womb and developing the disease. It appears that the disease may appear long after the initial trigger, whatever that might have been.

Rutherford feels hopeful about help for Parkinson’s disease in the longer term. New research on the genetic components of Parkinson’s disease is being funded by Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, whose mother has the disease.

“There is a lot of research being done and there is likely to be a significant break-through in the next five to 10 years,” he said.