In 1984, the Movement Disorders Unit was established at the University Hospital of Val d’Hebron by Dr. Francis Michael “Before, in our hospital, patients with Parkinson’s disease were already being treated, but for 40 years we were subspecialists within the neurology service, and this helped us to work as a team in a more structured way and pool knowledge to initiate treatment protocols and advance clinical trials with innovative therapies.” “Dr. confirms. Oriol de Fabrage, MD, Associate Physician at the Hospital’s Neurology Service and Principal Investigator in the Neurodegenerative Diseases Group at the Val d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). Historical review by Dr. On Parkinson’s care in Catalonia and, in particular, in Val d’Hebron, Mr. de Fabrage initiated the third Parkinson’s Day in Val d’Hebron, which this year has the theme “40 years of treatment and research for Parkinson’s disease.”
Since then, the hospital unit has grown and currently includes two male and female physicians and one advanced practice nurse (APN). Among them is Dr. Victoria Gonzalez, MD, and Sarah Belmont, IPA from the Neurology Service, participated in the conference that highlighted the current approach to Parkinson’s disease through complex alternative therapies to the use of oral levodopa. Particular emphasis has been placed on levodopa pumps, of which Vall d’Hebron is standard, which consist of intraduodenal administration of levodopa.
In their talk, they explained some of these treatments that provide options for patients who suffer from advanced stages of the disease, who do not respond to standard treatments with levodopa, or who have specific personal characteristics. As they explain, these treatments are not ideal for everyone: they depend on each patient and it is necessary to provide accompaniment, support and education by IPAs to promote good outcomes.
Libori Ruiz is one of the Parkinson’s patients receiving complex treatment in Val d’Hebron. In his testimony during the day, he explained the various treatments he has received since his diagnosis and how the complex treatment he is currently receiving has improved his quality of life. It also highlighted the importance of daily support from caregivers and relatives.
Leading Parkinson’s research into personalized medicine
Although there have been many advances in treatments for patients with Parkinson’s disease in recent years, more research is still needed to identify biomarkers for diagnosing and prognosticating the disease, to find new molecular targets and to develop therapeutic strategies that modify the course of the disease. . the disease
In this sense, Dr. says: There are currently several clinical trials underway to develop personalized treatments, explained Jordi Bovi, principal investigator in the Neurodegenerative Diseases Group at VHIR. For this reason, he highlighted the need to improve the classification of patients based on their symptoms or mutations or genetic variants associated with the risk of developing and developing the disease, as Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease in which multiple factors are involved. If the molecular mechanisms of disease in each patient are understood, it will be possible to offer treatments that target each specific alteration.
Not all treatments are medicines
The last part of the day focused on the need for treatments not to focus only on medications or surgeries, but to take into account the key role that socialization or humor plays in improving patients’ health. Ana Gomez, a Parkinson’s disease patient who has participated in some of the VHIR research studies, is a monologist. She explained, with a sense of humor, how she deals with her illness on a daily basis.
The session ended with a round table on the present and future of Parkinson’s disease, moderated by Dr. Maria Teresa Bongiorno, Assistant Physician at the Neurology Service at Val d’Hebron University Hospital, where Laura Maurer, Director of the Catalan Parkinson’s Association, also participated.
As part of the conference, the VHIR Neurodegenerative Diseases team also opened the doors to explain to attendees how they work in the lab to advance research on Parkinson’s disease.
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