Dive Medicine
Can you dive with Parkinson’s Disease?
By Dr. David Sawatzky
some of the many things that have to be considered if you have Parkinson’s disease and wish to continue (or even take up) scuba diving.
A 58 The Background
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. In a large number of people with Parkinson’s disease there are also effects on thinking and behavior.
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in humans (after Alzheimer’s disease) and affects approximately one million people in the United States (0.3%). It most frequently develops
Magazine
few days ago I received a call from a long- time friend and diver who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, who was wondering about his future ability to dive. I knew the question would be very difficult to answer! In this column I will review Parkinson’s disease and look at
Early in the disease your
symptoms are usually mild enough that
diving is not a problem
after age 50, with a prevalence of 1% at age 60 and 4% at age 80. Parkinson’s disease has an onset between ages 20 and 50 in 5 to 10% of cases. It seems to be slightly more common in men than women but the difference is not large.
Symptoms consistent with Parkinson’s disease were described in ancient times but an English doctor, James Parkinson, published an essay in 1817 on the “shaking palsy” and the disease is named after him. Many of the symptoms of the disease are as a result of death of the cells in the substantia nigra part of the midbrain that produce dopamine. In 1912 Frederic Lewy described unique particles in the brains of people suffering from Parkinson’s disease that are now called ‘Lewy bodies’. In 1997 alpha-synuclein was found to be the main component of Lewy bodies.
The cause of Parkinson’s disease is largely unknown. A few families have a high incidence of Parkinson’s disease and some specific gene mutations have been shown to cause Parkinson’s disease but these account
Photo: Bill Coltart
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68