Parkinson’s disease is a complex constellation of symptoms. As reported in the August 30, 2011 issue of Neurology, neurologist care of Parkinson patients greatly improves their quality of life and long term clinical outcome. Parkinson disease affects approximately 1 million Americans. It is only second to Alzheimer’s disease as a common neurodegenerative illness. Early diagnosis, recognition of associated symptoms and comorbidities as well as comprehensive care are necessary if a Parkinson patient’s long term clinical outcomes and quality of life are to be maintained.

Neurology has commonly not been taught in the detail that is necessary in most medical schools. Medical students graduate, generally with a limited understanding of neurological diseases and the treatment required for each. Neurology has a vast scope of illnesses, each requiring intimate knowledge and understanding of the disease process as well as the treatment required to optimize patient well being and life quality. It is beyond the scope of medical school, internship and even family medicine or internal medicine residencies to train the young physician sufficiently in the details of neurological disease.

Across the United States, 15-20% of all visits to a primary care doctor’s office (family physician or internal medicine) involve a neurological complaint. While simple problems such as back or neck pain can easily be treated, more complicated illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, migraine headaches, seizures and multiple sclerosis should be managed by a neurologist – particularly a sub-specialist neurologist in the disease process needing treatment. Surveys in the United States, Europe and Asia show that both medical students and general physicians do not feel as comfortable in managing neurological problems as they do other common medical problems.  The article in Neurology clearly shows that Parkinson patients, managed by a neurologist, have overall better outcomes than those managed by family physicians.

Parkinson patients managed by  a neurologist have  an earlier diagnosis. This leads to starting treatment earlier. With early intervention, patient functioning can be maintained and optimized. This allows for the patient and their families to enjoy more quality time together with an increased ability to engage in social activities and travel. The study reported in Neurology, looked at over 138,000 Parkinson patents. The finding of this study showed that about 20% of patents with Parkinson’s disease never see a neurologist. These patients had a higher rate of falling, hip fractures, nursing home admission and death at an earlier age.

Parkinson patents cared for by a neurologist, by contrast, significantly had fewer hip fractures. Hip fractures are a major cause of disability and death in the elderly. Inherent to Parkinson patients is gait instability and a tendency for stumbles and falls. Falling prevention is a main goal in all elderly patients, but particularly those with Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately, many who suffer a hip fracture may become wheelchair confined, even with successful hip fracture repair.  One third of all patients who suffer a hip fracture will die within a year of their fracture! The annual cost of managing a patient with a hip fracture is $20,000 per person – not including medical costs. With detailed care of all of a Parkinson patients symptoms, a neurologist can better prevent these patients from falling and suffering fractures.

The second finding of this study was that Parkinson patients getting state-of-the-art care by a neurologist had a lower probability of being admitted to a nursing home. While most Parkinson patients do not need nursing home care, those with more advanced disease, Parkinson related dementia or complications such as hip fractures frequently need skilled nursing facility placement. Parkinson’s disease is complex condition. Not only are the motor symptoms a major problem, but so are the cognitive and psychological problems that go along with this disease. Depression and anxiety occur in over fifty percent of Parkinson patients. Early recognition and treatment  is critical for improved patent and caregiver quality of life. Dementia is also a common problem. It can start as mild memory loss but will progress. Neurologists are sensitive to these problems and there are medications as well as dietary supplements that help to improve these problems.

The final finding of the Neurology study was that there was a statistically significant increase in the six year survival of patients with Parkinson’s disease managed by a neurologist. There are multiple reasons why this may be the case, including earlier use of the many types of medications used in Parkinson management, treatment of coexisting psychiatric problems and addressing the multitude of other medical problems that are frequently associated with Parkinson’s disease.

The conclusion for Parkinson patients and their family or caregivers is to get that patient into see a neurologist, particularly a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders. Patients want more control over their life, improved quality of life and the ability to remain functional as long as possible. This is true for the Parkinson patient as well. Take control of your life, contact Sarasota Neurology for consultation and management of your Parkinson’s disease. It will most likely be the best thing you could do for yourself – for the rest of your life.

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has been used medically since the late 1990′s. Dentists were the first to use this natural healing mechanism to improve outcomes of dental procedures. PRP has been used since 2000 for intraoperative (in the course of surgery) therapy following orthopedic, thoracic and cardiac surgical procedures. PRP has found wide use in non-surgical orthopedic treatment of knee pain and other joint injuries.

Platelet rich plasma also can heal injured tendons, ligaments, muscle, cartilage and bone. Major league sports has discovered the incredible natural healing effects of PRP. Many national and international sports leagues have adopted PRP therapy as one of the first line treatments of their injured athletes. Professional sports has recognized the economic value of PRP in that one PRP treatment costs $1500-2000 as compared to the typical orthopedic surgery which can range from $20,000 – 40,000. Additionally PRP has virtually no down time and does not require months of physical rehabilitation.  Platelet rich plasma has become an early treatment option in the treatment of professional athletes that have suffered muscle, joint, tendon and ligament injures.

NFL Players Who Have Received PRP

Hines Ward: Multiple PRP Treatments & 2 Super Bowl Wins!

Hines Ward, the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, has use platelet rich plasma therapy on at least two occasions  for a torn medial collateral ligament — a knee injury. The use of PRP allowed him to go on and win two Super Bowls. Mr. Ward has attributed his ability to play to receiving PRP.

Other NFL players have successfully been treated with PRP for various injuries. Troy Polamalu, a Steeler’s defensive safety, has had his share of traumatic injuries. As one of the top defensive players, Polamalu has had repeated trauma to his knees. He had one significant MCL injury for which he had PRP therapy.

Donald Jones of the Buffalo Bills and Andre Dixon of the Hartford Colonials have also had PRP therapy for their injuries -all with excellent success.  Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson suffered a high ankle sprain. To expedite the recovery process, Johnson underwent platelet rich plasma therapy.

These professional athletes were able to get back to playing football in only a few short weeks, instead of the normal 2-4 months of healing and rehabilitation time it take for more conventional therapies. Surgical treatment would sideline these highly trained athletes for a whole season. NFL physicians have discovered that PRP is the answer to getting these players healed quickly, with needing to resort to surgery. Platelet rich plasma regenerates new, stronger tissue in these injured players.

Major League Baseball and PRP

Alex Rodriguez: 5-time PRP Recipient

Alex Rodriguez, one of Major League Baseball’s most famous players used five PRP treatments to accelerate healing and recovery following hip surgery that left him in pain. His trainers were amazed to see how much faster A-Rod was able to get back into playing baseball.

Takashi Saito suffered an elbow injury in his pitching arm while playing as a Pitcher for the LA. At 38, surgery was not a good option, as recovery could have taken as much as 9 months. He had PRP therapy and was able to resume pitching in only a few weeks. Saito credited his unlikely recovery from a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament to PRP therapy.

Takashi Saito in his 2009 Season with the Boston Red Sox

In one year, Major League Baseball’s 30 teams had 519 players who spent 28,602 days on the disabled list for injuries sustained while playing baseball. This represented $455 million in total salary sitting idle, as these athletes were sidelined. PRP therapy can and does have a major effect in reducing recovery and down time.

National Basketball Association and PGA

One of the most famous basketball players, Kobe Bryant, has had several arthroscopic knee surgeries for right knee pain. He went to Germany to receive platelet rich plasma therapy. Being in his 30′s, he did not see more surgery as a good alternative. The promise of non-surgical, more rapid improvement with PRP therapy for his knee pain convinced this basketball legend to undergo therapy. Similarly professional golf star, Tiger Woods has undergone platelet rich plasma therapy more than once following ACL reconstructive surgery. His knee pain continued after surgery and he went with PRP with beneficial results.

National Tennis and World Soccer

Rafael Nadal: PRP Recipient

Other major national and international sports have recognized PRP therapy as an outstanding alternative to “standard” conservative therapy and certainly its benefits over surgical intervention. World tennis star, Rafael Nadal underwent PRP therapy after injuring his knee. His physician, Dr. Mikel Sanchez, described platelet rich plasma as a miraculous regenerative treatment. Indeed, that is what PRP does, regenerates new tissue. Major League Soccer players have also discovered the potential for better, rapid healing with PRP therapy.

Jonathan Bornstein, one of the top new young stars in soccer, twisted his knee resulting in a torn ligament. Facing the prospect of being out of playing soccer for 10 weeks, Bornstein elected to have PRP for his knee injury. He was back to running in 3 weeks and was ready to resume playing soccer only 2 weeks later. The list of professional athletes in a broad range of Major League sports, who have undergone platelet rich plasma therapy is growing every week. This list is beyond the scope of this article. The conclusion though is that PRP therapy is here to stay in the treatment of these injured, highly trained athletes.

PRP therapy is considered to be acceptable medical therapy by the International Olympic Committee, World Anti-Doping Agency and most professional sports association. Platelet rich plasma therapy is distinctly not blood doping and has been ruled on by the IOC and WADA as well as professional athletic associations.

Platelet rich plasma is a novel, non-surgical therapy to heal injured tissue. The platelets contain growth factors, cytokines and other agents that trigger the healing cascade. The difference is, is that with PRP therapy, a massively concentrated amount of platelets and supporting proteins are injected directly into the damage tissue. The body uses the same natural healing process for injuries but not in this high concentration. With this high concentration of healing platelets and growth factors, injured tissues can be regenerated and healed in only a few weeks. Many patients can have pain relief in 3 weeks. Many other painful conditions can be treated with PRP. If you suffer from joint, muscle, tendon or back pain – contact Sarasota Neurology for PRP therapy in Sarasota.

Photo Credits: tomcoolinmiami (Hines Ward) Keith Allison (Alex Rodriguez) Keith Allison (Takashi Saito) Francisco Diez (Rafael Nadal)

Lower back pain is a common complaint seen by almost every primary care doctor in the United States. So common in fact that 80% of the population will experience at least one episode of significant low back pain in their life. Many will experience recurrent episodes of lower back pains. Of those patients, one third will have some degree of leg pain in one or both legs. Back pain and most cases of associated leg pain do not originate from lumbar (lower back) spinal disc problems. There are many pain fiber bearing structures in the lower back including muscle, tendons, ligaments, vertebral joints and bone itself. The good news is that over 97% of all low back pain problems can be treated without surgery. Low back surgery is the most commonly overly performed surgical procedure in the United States and all too frequently the results are poor and even worse, makes the patient’s condition (back pain) more severe.

In the vast majority of patients, a careful history and detailed physical exam is the basis for developing a comprehensive, conservative treatment plan. Most patients show significant back muscle spasm with tenderness. Some will have exquisite tenderness in the sacroiliac joint – where the tail bone meets the hip bone – a condition known as sacroiliitis. Piriformis Syndrome can cause low back pain and leg pain, but there is no spine involvement in this condition. The patient’s neurological exam is usually normal – it is uncommon to find clinical evidence of lumbar spinal nerve root compression (“pinched nerve”). In any clinical setting however, non-surgical treatment is indicated. Even in individuals who have evidence of a disc herniated, on exam, need conservative therapy – physical therapy, massage and anti-inflammatory medication. The natural history of disc herniation is to heal without the need for surgery or other invasive procedures such as epidural spine injections. A specifically designed course of hands on physical therapy combined with neuromuscular therapy in combination with self administered back stretching exercises will result in favorable outcomes the majority of the time While not clinically needed, many patients undergo CT or MRI scanning to look for the cause of their low back pain. This is where the road splits on the proper decision to use appropriate conservative therapy or improper decision to go to with an invasive route such as spinal injections or worse, surgery. Studies have shown that epidural steroid injections are no better than placebo. Other studies have shown that the outcome of back pain patients treated surgically is no better than those treated with best medical therapy. Narcotics should be avoided as they are habit-forming and do nothing to clear up the pain.

For patients that do get MRI studies, it is not uncommon to find spine MRI abnormalities. The important fact is that these abnormal MRI findings do not necessarily explain the pain that that individual is experiencing. To account for an individual’s back pain or sciatica (leg pain), the MRI findings must correlate exactly with the patient’s symptoms and neurological exam to have clinical significance. MRI studies of normal individuals without back pain or sciatica have been done. The results have shown that approximately 55% had bulging discs at one or more levels, 28% had disc herniation on the MRI scans. More than 70% of the MRI scans showed abnormalities and yet the patients had no symptoms! These MRI scans were done on patients who never had any back or leg pain – 70% of the MRIs were “abnormal.” The conclusion that just because the MRI scan shows “something”, does not mean that the findings are the cause of any given patient’s back or leg pain.

With conservative treatment and patient cooperation to do the back exercises, most patients have significant relief with clearing of their pain within 4-6 weeks. It is then important that patients continue to do their back exercises on a regular basis, as part of their daily exercise routine. Physical body reconditioning and core strengthening will also help a great deal. Back surgery (or neck surgery) can almost always be avoided. If you have back or neck pain that is troubling you, contact Dr. Kassicieh now for treatment.

What do you think of when you think of neck or back massage therapy? Most people think of the type of massage you would receive if you went to the spa for the day.  That type of massage therapy is known as a Swedish Massage. Swedish Massage is only one of over 40 types of massage that a person can receive. When you say you went to see your doctor today, what do you think of?  If I went to see my family doctor, my image would be different than if I said I went to see my Cardiovascular surgeon.  They are both doctors, but the exams and procedures that they perform are vastly different.

The field of massage is similar in its sub-specialization within the scope of massage therapy. Swedish Massage is great for relaxation and stress reduction, but if your back just went into spasm and is  locked up, you would be much better served going to a Massage Therapist that specializes in Rehabilitation and back pain relief.   Neuromuscular Therapy, Myofascial Release, Positional Release and Muscle Energy are just a few of the specialized massage techniques that were developed to treat muscle pain and skeletal dysfunction.  These techniques are focused on looking at the role of the soft tissues in causing pain. Soft tissues include muscle, tendon, ligament and fascia. Fascia is the covering over muscles and internal organs that provide stability and strength. Neuromuscular therapy treats fascia and muscle pain. Myofascial Release treats connective tissue disorders, particularly tight fascia which is a painful syndrome that frequently accompanies muscle pain and spasm. Positional Release treats muscle spasms, muscle energy treats joint restrictions.

These techniques are taught to Massage Therapists as advanced, highly specialized postgraduate courses. Just as a doctor can practice medicine after four years in medical school, he/she must first participate in a postgraduate internship and residency program to specialize in his/her specific field of medicine.  A Massage Therapist who is treating patient for acute and chronic muscle and joint pain should have more than just basic, Swedish Massage training. What patient’s want most is pain relief.

In summary, specialized massage therapy for medical conditions, requires advanced training on the part of the massage therapist. Many hours of postgraduate massage therapy education and training is necessary for successful outcomes in the treatment of patients suffering from pain in the neck, back, head or extremities. For more information visit Soar Point Massage or contact Jack Ryan, LMT a 941–993-3339 for an appointment.

Do you have knee pain? Tear a knee meniscus, sprain a ligament or have symptomatic knee arthritis or bursitis? Knee injuries, cartilage tears or tendon sprains are common causes of knee pain. Many patients can get relief with rest, wearing a knee brace and taking an aspirin, ibuprofen or other pain relieving agent. Sometimes a cortisone injection will relieve the knee pain without further treatment. When knee pain persists, patients seek out orthopedic surgical opinions. All too often, patients are told that surgery is their only option. Unfortunately surgery does not always work and patients are left with persistent knee pain. They then resort to narcotic pain killers to relieve pain.

Platelet rich plasma therapy has been FDA approved for medical use for over 20 years. Platelet rich plasma is derived from your own blood, eliminating risk of disease transmission. Two ounces of blood is drawn and the natural healing component of the blood is concentrated by 500%. This is the platelet rich plasma, (PRP). PRP is the concentrated healing component of blood. This can be injected directly into the knee joint (a relatively painless procedure.) Platelet rich plasma will heal damaged knee tissue naturally, using the body’s own healing mechanism to repair the damaged meniscus, ligament or tendon. In patients whom suffer from bone-on-bone arthritis as a cause of their knee pain, platelet rich plasma can stimulate the natural regrowth of cartilage, which relieves the pain. PRP can also help patients who have had arthroscopic surgeries who still have knee pain. Avoid surgery, stay off narcotics.

Using PRP has many advantages: 1) it is an outpatient procedure with no recovery time, 2) it requires no general anesthesia, 3) there is no rehabilitation required, 4) healing occurs by a completely natural process, 5) complications are almost unheard of and 6) cost is much less than surgery. If you have knee pain or other joint pain, you should look into getting platelet rich plasma therapy a proven, non-surgical treatment for joint pain. For more information go to our Sarasota PRP for knee pain page or call Dr. Kassicieh at 941-955-5858 for an appointment.

Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that is a genetic, progressive neurological disorder that slowly takes away a persons ability to walk, talk, and reason. It is characterized by the initial subtle symptoms of change in personality and motor skills ability. As the condition progresses, patients develop involuntary movements known as chorea (hence Huntington’s Chorea.)  The word chorea comes from the Greek word choreia, which means “to dance”, which describes the uncoordinated, jerky body movements associated with the condition. Other motor symptoms eventually appear and may include difficulty speaking, walking or writing.  It was reported in detail in 1872 by the American physician, George Huntington (1850-1916).

Symptoms of Huntington’s disease usually appear between the ages of  35-44 years old. Affected individuals can show a general lack of coordination and an unsteady gait.  Other symptoms include  depression, mood swings, forgetfulness, clumsiness, and involuntary twitching. As the disease progresses, concentration and short-term memory decrease and involuntary movements of the head, trunk and limbs increase. Huntington’s dementia eventually occurs. Patients will have memory loss associated with difficulty in abstract thinking, planning and avoiding inappropriate behavior.

In 1993, scientists discovered the gene that causes Huntington’s disease. HD is a genetic mutation stemming from the formation a chain of abnormal DNA sequences. There are four building blocks of DNA. Repeating DNA chains of cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) code for the protein glutamine, an amino acid. As a result, these long glutamine chain proteins clump together and are toxic to brain cells (neurons.) The more CAG repeat sequences there are, the more severe the symptoms of HD.  Scientists have also discovered the more severely the gene is mutated, the earlier the onset of the disease.

There is no known cure for Huntington’s disease at this time .  There are, however, treatments which can be employed to reduce the severity of some symptoms.  Tetrabenazine was developed specifically to reduce the severity of chorea in HD. Other drugs that help to reduce chorea include Haldol, Risperdal and other neuroleptic medications. Valium like drugs known as benzodiazepines may also be helpful. Rigidity can be treated with antiparkinsonian drugs, and myoclonic hyperkinesia can be treated with valproic acid. Depression is common in HD and can be managed with medications in the serotonin reuptake inhibitor family, such as Prozac or citolopram.

Huntington’s Disease profoundly affects not only the patient, but the entire family — physically, emotionally, socially and economically.  Since there is no known cure and the prognosis is poor, a plan of action should be developed jointly with a qualified neurologist who specializes in movement disorders so that the patient’s quality of life can be maintained as long as possible. Your neurologist can also help you locate and connect to some of the many support groups, organizations, and resources available to help with both the patient and the family and caregiver(s).

Innovative research is underway and aims to find better treatment options and ultimately hope and a cure for this debilitating condition.  If you suspect that you or someone you love may be suffering from Huntington’s Chorea, contact Sarasota Neurology for an appointment.

In this episode of the Sarasota Neurology Podcast, Dr. Kassicieh, a recognized expert  in clinical Botox, provides an overview of  current techniques for treating dystonia, muscle spasm (which may be associated with pain), spasticity from stroke or brain injury with Botox.

Botox was first FDA approved for medical use in 1989. Since then, Botox has found many medical uses to treat clinical conditions that were previously difficult to treat. Conditions such as cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, hemifacial spasm and spasticity such as that seen in cerebral palsy, stroke or spinal cord injuries have all been successfully managed with Botox.

Other similar products such as Dysport and Xeomin all have uses for cervical dystonia. Most recently, Botox was approved for use for treatment of chronic migraine headaches. Listen for more information on the clinical use of Botox and other similar products.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of Botox, please call (941) 955-5858 or click here to schedule your appointment today. If you’re outside the Sarasota area and unable to travel here, please locate a neurologist in your area.

In this episode of the Sarasota Neurology Podcast, Dr. Kassicieh, a recognized expert in stroke prevention, provides an overview of  current techniques for preventing and managing risk of stroke.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. This combined with heart attacks and heart disease result in over 2 million deaths a year.

The common underlying cause is vascular disease or hardening of the arteries. Heart attack and stroke can be prevented with simple life style changes and medications. Treatment of high cholesterol, high blood pressure and stop smoking will significantly lower risk of suffering from these devastating conditions. This combined with supplements and simple medications, such as aspirin with have a dramatic impact in reducing risk for stroke and heart attack.

Listen to this report to find out how you can reduce your risk of suffering from a stroke, heart attack or other cardiovascular disease.

If you are concerned that you or someone you love may be at risk for stroke, please call (941) 955-5858 or click here to schedule your appointment today. If you’re outside the Sarasota area and unable to travel here, please locate a neurologist in your area.

Patients are being treated currently at Sarasota Neurology with PRP (platelet rich plasma) for a wide variety of joint pain and other pain issues. Among the more common uses for PRP are knee pain, shoulder pain and other painful conditions such as plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, some types of low back pain. PRP can also be used in patients that have residual joint pain from having had orthopedic arthroscopic knee or shoulder surgery.

PRP works to heal painful joints by using the patients’ own natural biological healing mechanism. The injured or damaged tissue in the joints, ligament and tendons or muscle send out chemical signals that there is injury or incomplete healing. PRP has receptors on the active platelets that seek out these damaged tissues. The PRP graft then biologically and molecularly attach to the damage tissue and trigger the natural healing process of making new collagen. This process takes six weeks to have a full effect although actual healing can continue for up to three months.

PRP may be used in some patients as an alternative to having surgery on their knees, rotator cuffs or in cases of plantar fasciitis (foot pain). Beginning in early 2011, Sarasota Neurology will be offering a new and innovative uses for PRP. This highly effective treatment is ideal for patients who would prefer to avoid the cost, pain and time involved in having surgery for the same problem. Check back with us in February to get more details of this exciting treatment with PRP in Sarasota.

In this episode of the Sarasota Neurology Podcast, Dr. Kassicieh, a recognized Parkinson’s disease expert, provides an overview of the disease and current techniques for managing it.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease seen in the United States. Only Alzheimer’s disease is more common. They both share the common fact that they are progressive neurological diseases that result in patients losing functional ability. Alzheimer’s disease affects memory, the ability to remember how to do things and general loss of mental function. Alzheimer’s patients are mostly not aware of the fact that they are neurologically deteriorating. They will make excuses for their memory short comings. Like Parkinson’s disease it is important to recognize Alzheimer’s early so that treatment can be started and outcomes will be improved.

Parkinson’s disease is primarily a progressive loss of the ability to move normally. There is a gradual slowing of movements as well as doing routine tasks such as shaving, dressing and getting ready to go out. Walking is affected and patients tend to shuffle with a forward stoop. Although tremor is common in Parkinson’s patients, not all have this. The converse is true: not everyone with tremor has Parkinson’s disease. There are many treatment available for Parkinson patients to improve their quality of life.

Not everything that shakes is Parkinson’s. If you are concerned that you or someone you love may be suffering from this or another movement disorder, please call (941) 955-5858 or click here to schedule your appointment today. If you’re outside the Sarasota area and unable to travel here, please locate a movement disorder specialist in your area.