Highlights of The Inland Northwest Hope for Parkinson's Conference (Part Four)

The Keynote address was delivered by former Spokane neurologist Anthony Santiago. Tremendously popular with local patients, he was credited by several people I talked to for the high turnout at the conference. He walked vigorously up and down the stage as he went through his PowerPoint slides. He began by explicitly addressing the complexity of Parkinson's Disease, and by explaining that PD is not a dopamine-centered disorder. In fact, the substantia  nigra, where the brain manufactures dopamine is one of the final stops of this disease, PD is present in the gut and olfactory systems years before it begins its mischief in the motor center of the brain. For this reason, mere dopamine treatment is neither sufficient, nor efficient in treating the entire disease. 

Dr. Santiago offered a number of observations of interest. Among them were:  

-treated Parkinson's Disease is not fatal

 - The idea of postponing any dopamine-related therapy is based on myth, and leads to lesser quality of life

-In fact, the earlier treatment is introduced, the better patients do.


Although his talk was entitled "Dopamine Replacement Therapies" the most interesting part was when he talked about new medications that look beyond dopamine to other chemicals that contribute to Parkinson's miseries. He mentioned Addex, still at the trial stage, which aims at the substance glutamate. Addex acts on a receptor that that causes dyskinesia, allowing more on time with less excess movement.

In some ways Dr. Santiago summed up the conference with his emphasis on the complexity of Parkinson's, and pointed the way forward by talking about looking beyond the narrow focus on dopamine-centered treatments. While acknowledging that complexity, he also embodied the spirit of hope and optimism that were at the core of this event. Certainly the reach and infernally tangled nature of Parkinson's disease has never been clearer. But until a problem is clear, how can you hope to resolve it? By that light, we're much closer to where we need to go than we were ten years ago.

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A note on these posts about the Inland Hope Conference: These reports are based on my notes, and reflect my biases and abilities to make accurate recordings of the event as I experienced it. Corrections, questions or disputes about facts or their interpretation are welcome. Please post with civility in the comments section.