First, I want to thank all of you who expressed concern after my blog post last week.  It was a very stressful week which definitely had an effect on how I felt.  I saw my Movement Disorders Specialist on Thursday and she assured me that I am doing ok, I just need to get more sleep and reduce my stress levels.  She suggested meditation, which I have tried before, but never seemed to get into it.  I will try again and hopefully will be more successful.

The California Parkinson’s Disease Registry

Beginning July 1, 2018, a new California Parkinson’s Disease Registry (CPDR) will be implemented.   The California Health and Safety Code (HSC) 103860-103870 requires healthcare providers diagnosing or providing treatment to Parkinson’s disease patients to report each case of Parkinson’s disease to California Department of Public Health.   It will be a statewide population-based registry that will be used to measure the incidence and prevalence of Parkinson’s disease.

From the CPDR website:  “Surprisingly, little is known about how Parkinson’s disease is distributed among different population groups and whether the patterns of disease are changing over time.  California’s large and diverse population makes it ideal for providing important information about this disease.  CPDR will expand our understanding of Parkinson’s disease to ultimately improve the lives of those affected.”

Why do we need Parkinson’s Registries?

When a large population of people have a disease like Parkinson’s disease (PD), it’s essential to have accurate numbers of how many people have the disease, where they live and why they have it. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, this information helps researchers, healthcare professionals and even legislators determine how many resources should be allocated to addressing and treating a disease  Currently, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has no firm numbers for the incidence of PD in the United States, which has been estimated to be about 500,000- 600,000.  The last major PD prevalence study was completed 40 years ago in 1978.  Because the risk for PD rises with age, the number of people with Parkinson’s is expected to increase dramatically as the Baby Boomer population ages,  The Parkinson’s Foundation Prevalence Project estimates that 930,000 people in the United States will be living with PD by the year 2020. This number is predicted to rise to 1.2 million by 2030.

What the Registry does NOT do:

• Disclose individual patient information
• Report you to the DMV
• Jeopardize your current or future medical care

A quick search on the internet showed that only a few other states currently have Parkinson’s Disease Registries, including Nebraska, Utah and Washington.   More states need to create PD Registries soon, so that they can plan for the increase in services and resources needed for treating PD as the population ages.  If your state does not have a registry, contact the Michael J Fox Foundation or the Parkinson’s Foundation to find out about lobbying your state legislators to create one.

There are a growing number of best Parkinson’s Diseases blog lists popping up on the internet.  The latest one is  from Everyday Health, an online Health magazine.  The list consists of 10 blogs that they call “truthful and inspiring.”  I am proud to be one of the ten and congratulate the other bloggers chosen.   There are many very good blogs out there, so if your favorite is not on this list, it may be on another.