Parkinson's Canberra ACT | Non-profit organisation

Parkinson's Canberra ACT

Phone: 6290 1984

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25.01.2022 Exciting presentation at the Parkinson's Australia Symposium this afternoon on Medicinal Cannabis - perspectives of a researcher and a consumer - A/Prof Nial Wheate and Robert Vicary. While we can't post the presentation from the Symposium here you can learn more about the significant benefits that people with Parkinson's can experience from supervised, medically prescribed cannabis in a number of recent studies... A study published in the National Centre for Biotechnology... (USA), researched Medical Cannabis as a treatment for motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. In this study, 22 patients with Parkinson’s disease attended a motor disorder clinic and were given Medical Cannabis. The results were measured by using a Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale, visual analog scale, present pain intensity scale, Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, as well as Medical Cannabis Survey National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre Questionnaire. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in tremor, sleep, and pain scores. There were also no significant adverse side effects of Medical Cannabis. Ref https://cannabisdoctorsaustralia.com.au/medical-cannabis-a/ See more

22.01.2022 How can something so simple, sometimes be so hard? Sleep difficulties are common in Parkinson’s. This session will explore the sleep difficulties that can be encountered in Parkinson’s and provide some practical tips to manage and even overcome them. Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. The way you feel while you're awake depends in part on what happens while you're sleeping. Throughout October, Parkinson’s Victoria presents its new Living Well online series an informative weekly presentation designed to provide people with advice and tools to continue to optimally manage their Parkinson’s.

20.01.2022 Heros at home! This year, more than ever, the care partners who helped their loved one with Parkinson’s disease (PD) through an unprecedented 2020 deserve recognition during National Family Caregivers Month Whether you care for someone who is recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD), are adapting to new challenges as the disease progresses or have been living with PD for a long time, a strong support network is essential for your wellbeing and the wellbeing of the pe...rson with Parkinson’s. Making sure you are taken care of, too, can help create a productive partnership that minimizes stress and conflict. Parkinson’s Foundation has tons of resources to help care partners. In fact, they have an entire section of their webpage dedicated to caregiving. Check them out at the link below.

19.01.2022 Don't miss out! We are looking forward to catching up with members and other people interested in the well being of people living with Parkinson's at our Annual AGM from 6.00-8.30pm on Friday 30th October - at the Southern Cross Club in Phillip. There will be a chance to catch up in a COVID-safe environment over refreshments and there will also be two interesting presentations by Kate Sterrenberg - Occupational Therapist - talking about how "A Doctor may save your life, but an Occupational Therapist helps you live it!, and PACT Committee Member Jeff Smart and Young at Park Convenor Jen Harkens on "Taking the Bull by the Horns! Empowering people with Young Onset" Click on the link below to register now.

17.01.2022 ANNOUNCING NEW PACT GROUP FOR MEN LIVING WITH PARKINSON'S - 'GUYS & GAMES GATHERING' - starting this Thursday 26th November. * Interested in getting together with other Canberra men living with Parkinson’s? * Enjoy games based activities: cards, scrabble, chess, backgammon, boules/bocce or other ? * Or perhaps, you are also interested in the odd game of tennis or badminton?... Tim Bennetts and I are both Parkies, members of PACT and long term volunteers at local tennis clubs ... and we also both like games! So we thought a games theme would be a good way for men with Parkinson's to meet, spend time together, and get to know each other. The plan is to meet at the Eastlake Tennis club as a venue - we are currently thinking fortnightly - Thursday mornings at 10am-12 noon with our first get-together this coming Thursday, November 26 and again on Thursday, December 10. If there is enough interest we can then lock in the dates for 2021 - there is, of course, no commitment to come regularly but as suits! We already have a couple of others interested for this Thursday, so we will hire a court for a 'bit of a hit' of tennis (please bring your own racquet, if wanting to join in) and we will also bring some other games and test the interest and ideas of those who come along on the day over tea/coffee from one of the Manuka cafes. We expect that as friendships form that conversations will lead naturally to the sharing of information and experiences with Parkinson’s, and the love of games and other common interests. Whilst the venue is a tennis club, and a hit of tennis is one of the options, there is no problem if you prefer other activities or even just want a chat. Eastlake Tennis Club (47 Flinders Way, Griffith, ACT - see https://play.tennis.com.au/eastlaketennisclub) has easy access and parking. Note, though, that there is no disabled/accessible toilet. PACT has public liability insurance and will cover any venue/court costs for this trial usage. Hoping to see a good roll up this coming Thursday 26th November from 10am-12pm! For more info see the attached flyer and https://www.parkinsonsact.org.au/post/guys-games-gathering. Any queries please email me at [email protected] Martin Pikler PACT

16.01.2022 BIG CONGRATULATIONS To the program and team that has been honoured with a Community Award in the Mental Health Month Awards 2020. You are all invited to watch the presentation of this award. The award will be presented by the Governor General of Australia David Hurley. The award presentation this Thursday October 29th, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm online with Facebook Live. You can register to join the event on Facebook via the following link in advance ...or just join the link on the day between 3:30 and 4:30pm. The link is:https://www.facebook.com/events/680621192802711?active_tab=about These awards recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals, groups, organisations, businesses, and initiatives in the area of Mental Health in the ACT. has been selected for the category Mentally Healthy Community Award - Community Group. This category seeks to recognise individuals, groups or organisations who have made a significant contribution to improving the mental wellbeing of our community. sees this as recognition of all those who contribute to the success of the group. These include: - all the artists who attend our sessions and all their amazing carers - our facilitators, their helpers, the morning tea cake providers, the card, book mark and film makers, our website designer and maintainer - Parkinson's ACT - Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Belconnen Arts Centre - music composer for our own suite of music for our group, our people who help write speeches and turn our procedures into books - our members who represent us with Parkinson's ACT and put our paintings on Instagram, see pwp_act - our drivers, support workers and the list goes on and on.

16.01.2022 Another fantastic Symposium presentation - conversation between Olivia Nassais of Parkinson's SA and Dr Fiona Kerr - Founder and Director of the NeurTech Institute talking about neurogenesis and the role of technology in health care. What's neurogenesis? Neurogenesis is the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain. Neurogenesis is crucial when an embryo is developing, but also continues in certain brain regions after birth and throughout our lifespan. Highly re...commend checking out Dr Kerr's fantastic free publication - Look Up - an invitation to live life with a deeper connection to our surroundings, and each other. It is a gentle nudge and reminder for us all to engage more fully with the world around us, and the people we share it with. Click on the link below to download your copy. Gone are the days when we thought our brain was set after a few years, and we couldn’t change it. We now know that the brain moves, grows, prunes and changes continually in response to external and internal stimuli. In short we sculpt our brain depending on what we reinforce and pay attention to. There are peak times in life such as early childhood and adolescence during which the brain grows in size and complexity, but under the right conditions we can grow new brain at any stage of our lives. The ways to do this include adequate exercise and sleep, learning new things, eating the right foods to keep our microbiome healthy, and last but not least, direct human interaction.

09.01.2022 "Shining a Light on Parkinson's Disease" - Yet another groundbreaking and exciting Symposium presentation - facilitated by PACT CEO and Treasurer - Jeff Smart - on the promising results of comprehensive studies into light therapy for Parkinson's - John Mitrofanis - Professor of anatomy at Sydney University and a world leader in research into the effects of red and near infrared light in Parkinson's Disease, Luke Gordon and Dr Daniel Johnstone. Changes that have been reported... include recovered sense of smell, writing firm and concise, gait has improved and improvements in climbing stairs, he says. From week to week, it might have only been a subtle change, but the cumulative effect over the months has been quite significant. In addition - and importantly - better sense of wellbeing, better sleep, less anxiety and improved mental clarity. Given that non-motor symptoms like anxiety, depression and confusion are major drivers of reduced quality of life, even minor improvements are likely to be valuable. The pace of studies on photobiomodulation is increasing exponentially. Despite a lot of scepticism, people are being drawn into it by the fact that it works. Encouragingly there have been no known complications from the use of red and infrared light therapy in humans.

06.01.2022 Interesting new study on Parkinson's-related apathy and Impulse Control Disorder. Summary of findings below - click on link to read the full study. Full article also has links to a useful article on the difference between apathy and depression. A person with PD can indeed experience both apathy and ICDs suggesting they are not on opposite sides of the spectrum. In fact, a significant majority (62%) of those with PD in this study with ICDs had clinically significant apathy;... while 41% of people with PD experiencing apathy also had ICD symptoms. Further, having both apathy and one or more ICDs resulted in having the highest levels of anxiety and depression. The findings from this study challenge the longstanding dogma that apathy cannot co-exist with impulse control behaviors, said Dr. Okun. Although it seems counter intuitive, clinicians should appreciate this possibility. This study suggests that it is imperative that clinicians, researchers, healthcare providers and care partners consider that these two PD symptoms are not mutually exclusive you can experience both at the same time. Knowing that someone with PD could have apathy and ICDs simultaneously, could profoundly impact clinical study designs, how novel medications are designed and tested, the approach (and mindset) of caregivers, and perhaps how those with PD think about themselves.

03.01.2022 What to do if the FOG sets in! An important part of living with Parkinson’s is leading an active lifestyle. In fact, exercise is the only thing proven to slow the progression of Parkinson’s. Exercise is Medicine. Freezing of gait (FOG) is one of the most debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s because it keeps people from moving around with confidence, decreasing activity levels. So, what can you do to lead an active lifestyle if FOG is an issue for you? Freezing of gait is of...ten described as feeling like your feet are glued to the floor or stuck in cement. Simply, it is the inability to take another step when you want to, and occurs because of a disconnect between the brain and the body. This interruption keeps the neural signal from reaching the motor neurons that should activate muscle movement. Freezing negatively impacts quality of life, daily activities, and is the leading cause of falls for people living with Parkinson’s. Fortunately, visual and auditory cueing has been shown to reduce the duration of freezing episodes by 69%, reduce the frequency of freezing episodes by 43%, and reduce the frequency of falls by 40%.

02.01.2022 Great interview in the Guardian with Michael J Fox on the release of his new book. In his fourth memoir, No Time Like the Future, the actor and activist poignantly reflects on mortality and his famous optimism. After living with Parkinson’s for 30 years, the actor still counts himself a lucky man. Fox reflects on what his diagnosis has taught him about hope, acting, family and medical breakthroughs. The Queen had her annus horribilis in 1992, Michael J Fox reminds us in this bracingly honest book about the worst year of his life. His equivalent nadir, and the reason he felt inspired to write this third memoir, was 2018. That, you think, must have been a bad year indeed for a man who had been living with Parkinson’s disease since his diagnosis in 1991, when he was 29.

01.01.2022 6 hours and 50 seconds to go to the Parkinson's Australia virtual national Symposium 2020 - 'Prosper'. The National Symposium provides the Parkinson’s community with the opportunity to come together to discuss and debate healthcare, government programs, and research that directly impacts upon the lives of people with Parkinson’s and their carers. This symposium is about changing the narrative: Developing a positive outlook and engaging with society to improve the independen...ce, wellbeing and options for people with Parkinson’s. See you there!