Mario T. no longer sees himself as an optimist

Mario T. non si considera più un ottimista

Ero un grande ottimista e ora non lo sono più. Quindi ho perso il battito cardiaco. A volte ho difficoltà a causa dell'astinenza dovuta al morbo di Parkinson, che a volte è un po' cronica.

Perdere l'ottimismo

Mario T. ne se considère plus comme un optimiste

Avant, j'étais très optimiste et aujourd'hui, je ne le suis plus. J'ai donc perdu le cœur à l'ouvrage. J'ai parfois des difficultés à cause du repli sur soi dû à la maladie de Parkinson et c'est parfois un peu chronique.

Perdre l'optimisme

Mario T. sieht sich nicht mehr als Optimist

Also früher war ich ein sehr grosser Optimist und heute bin ich das nicht mehr. Also ich habe das Herzblut verloren. Ich habe manchmal Schwierigkeiten durch das Zurückziehen wegen der Parkinsonerkrankung und das ist manchmal etwas chronisch.

Den Optimismus verlieren

Yolanda

So I used to be a very big optimist and now I'm not. So I've lost the heartbeat. I sometimes have difficulties because of the withdrawal due to Parkinson's disease and that is sometimes a bit chronic.

Lose optimism

People with Parkinson's disease and their relatives report that the changes that occur as the disease progresses also have an impact on the personality of the person affected over time. The impression of "no longer being the same" as before is expressed by relatives and affected persons alike. What exactly this means for the individual varies. While some perceive themselves as more unfriendly or anxious, others report changes in the perception of their own emotionality, the loss of humour or increasing withdrawal (e.g. when impulse control disorders exist).

Personality

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting both the central and peripheral nervous system. Symptoms are very heterogenous and include motor (e.g., tremor, slow movements, muscle rigidity) and non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression, sleep disturbances, anosmia). Parkinson's disease can lead to a loss of autonomy and self-esteem, altered relationships and social isolation.Communication impairment is also common and is associated with both motor and cognitive disturbances. Many people who suffer from Parkinson's disease increasingly lose their ability to work and their mobility is more and more restricted. Parkinson's disease is a challenge not only for the patients, but also for family caregivers, who must balance their own needs with caregiving responsibilities. Two important treatment options for Parkinson's disease in the advanced stage are deep brain stimulation and the Duodopa® pump. Deep brain stimulation is a brain modulation technique that works like a heart pacemaker and requires neurosurgical intervention. The Duodopa® pump consists of a continuous infusion of levodopa-carbidopa gel via a pump across the intestinal wall into the intestine.
For the DIPEx module on Parkinson's, we conducted 32 interviews with people with Parkinson's disease and family caregivers. Interview excerpts in the form of texts, video or audio clips, as well as drawings, make it possible to experience how the disease and its therapy affect the daily lives of those affected and their relatives.

La malattia di Parkinson è una malattia neurodegenerativa progressiva che colpisce il sistema nervoso centrale e periferico. I sintomi sono vari e comprendono sintomi motori (ad esempio tremore, movimenti lenti, rigidità muscolare) e non motori (ad esempio depressione, disturbi del sonno, anosmia). Il morbo di Parkinson può comportare una perdita di autonomia e di autostima, alterazione delle relazioni e isolamento sociale. Anche i disturbi della comunicazione sono comuni e sono associati a disturbi motori e cognitivi. Molte persone con malattia di Parkinson sono sempre più limitate nella loro capacità di lavorare e nella loro mobilità con il progredire della malattia. La malattia di Parkinson rappresenta una sfida non solo per la persona affetta, ma anche per i familiari che la assistono e che devono trovare un equilibrio tra le proprie esigenze e quelle del paziente.
Due importanti trattamenti clinici attuali per la malattia di Parkinson avanzata sono la stimolazione cerebrale profonda e la pompa Duodopa®. La stimolazione cerebrale profonda è una tecnica di modulazione dell'attività cerebrale che funziona in modo simile a un pacemaker e richiede un intervento neurochirurgico. Con la pompa Duodopa® , un'infusione continua di un gel di levodopa-carbidopa viene erogata tramite una pompa attraverso la parete intestinale nell'intestino tenue.
Per il modulo DIPEx sulla malattia di Parkinson, abbiamo condotto interviste con 32 persone affette da Parkinson in fase avanzata e con i loro familiari. Gli estratti delle interviste, sotto forma di testi, video o clip audio e disegni, mostrano come la malattia e la sua terapia influenzino la vita quotidiana delle persone colpite e dei loro familiari.

Malattia di Parkinson: stimolazione cerebrale profonda e pompa Duodopa

La maladie de Parkinson est une maladie neurodégénérative progressive touchant plusieurs régions du système nerveux central et périphérique. Les symptômes divers comprennent des symptômes moteurs (p. ex. tremblements, mouvements lents, rigidité) et non moteurs (p. ex. dépression, troubles du sommeil, anosmie). La maladie de Parkinson peut entraîner une perte d'autonomie et d'estime de soi, une modification des relations et un isolement social. Les difficultés de communication sont également fréquentes et sont associés à la fois aux troubles moteurs et cognitifs. De nombreuses personnes atteintes de la maladie de Parkinson se voient restreintes dans leur mesure de travailler ainsi que dans leur mobilité au fur et à mesure que la maladie progresse. La maladie de Parkinson présente un défi non seulement pour les patient·e·s, mais aussi pour les proches aidants, qui doivent concilier leurs propres besoins et leurs responsabilités en matière de soins. Pour les formes graves de la maladie de Parkinson, les deux principaux traitements sont actuellement la stimulation cérébrale profonde et la pompe Duodopa®. La stimulation cérébrale profonde consiste à moduler l'activité cérérbrale tel le ferait un pacemaker pour le cerveau, impliquant une intervention neurochirurgicale. La pompe Duodopa® consiste en une perfusion intrajunale continue de gel de lévodopa-carbidopa via une pompe traversant la paroi intestinale.
Le module DIPEx sur la maladie de Parkinson rapporte les expériences de 32 personnes qui soit sont atteintes de la maladie de Parkinson et ont été traitées par stimulation cérébrale profonde ou par la pompe Duodopa®, soit sont des proches aidants. Des extraits d'entretiens sous forme de texte, de vidéo ou de clip audio, ainsi que des dessins donnent un aperçu de la façon dont la maladie et son traitement affectent le quotidien des personnes atteintes de la maladie de Parkinson ainsi que celui de leurs proches.

Maladie de Parkinson : stimulation cérébrale profonde et pompe Duodopa

Morbus Parkinson ist eine fortschreitende neurodegenerative Erkrankung, die das zentrale und periphere Nervensystem betrifft. Die Symptome sind vielfältig und umfassen motorische (z.B. Tremor, langsame Bewegungen, Muskelstarre) und nicht-motorische Symptome (z. B. Depression, Schlafstörungen, Anosmie). Morbus Parkinson kann zu einem Verlust an Autonomie und Selbstwertgefühl, veränderten Beziehungen und sozialer Isolation führen. Kommunikationsstörungen sind ebenfalls häufig und sowohl mit motorischen als auch mit kognitiven Störungen verbunden. Viele Menschen mit Parkinson sind im Verlauf der Krankheit zunehmend in ihrer Arbeitsfähigkeit und ihrer Mobilität eingeschränkt. Eine Parkinson-Erkrankung ist nicht nur für die Betroffenen selbst eine Herausforderung, sondern auch für betreuende Angehörige, die ein Gleichgewicht zwischen eigenen Bedürfnissen und den Bedürfnissen der Patienten finden müssen.
Zwei wichtige aktuelle klinische Behandlungen der fortgeschrittenen Parkinson-Krankheit sind die tiefe Hirnstimulation und die Duodopa®-Pumpe. Die tiefe Hirnstimulation ist eine Technik zur Modulation der Hirnaktivität, die ähnlich wie ein Herzschrittmacher funktioniert und eine neurochirurgische Intervention voraussetzt. Bei der Duodopa®-Pumpe erfolgt eine kontinuierliche Infusion eines Levodopa-Carbidopa-Gels via eine Pumpe über die Darmwand in den Dünndarm.
Für das DIPEx Modul zu Parkinson haben wir Interviews mit 32  Menschen, die in einem fortgeschrittenen Stadium an Parkinson erkrankt sind und betreuenden Familienangehörigen geführt. In Interviewausschnitten wird in Form von Texten, Video- oder Audioclips sowie anhand von Zeichnungen erfahrbar, wie sich die Krankheit und deren Therapie auf das tägliche Leben der Betroffenen und deren Angehörigen auswirkt.

Parkinson-Erkrankung: Tiefenhirnstimulation und Duodopa-Pumpe

Parkinson's disease: deep brain stimulation and duodopa pump

Kristina

The second woman, she filed for divorce. [...] I actually understood that because she had already known my mother and had seen what it was like. [...] And my second wife couldn't stand that.

Separation

Parkinson's disease often has an influence on a couple's relationship. Changes are noticed by sufferers and also by partners of sufferers. In the area of communication, those affected report that conversations and talks have become more difficult, for example because the person with Parkinson's speaks in a quiet voice and is more difficult to understand, or when memory is impaired. Changes in the couple dynamics and in the respective roles are also reported, for example when the ill partner is increasingly unable or unwilling to make decisions, when questions of responsibility arise or when expectations of the partner change (e.g. on the subject of support). While for some people something unifying comes to the fore (e.g. being dependent on each other) and leads to the experience of more closeness, for others suffering - their own and their partner's - is a central issue that weighs on them.  Many of those affected also report that physical closeness and sexuality change.

Relationship

Mario T. is recommended deep brain stimulation.

At the clinic I was told, "go and do it [deep brain stimulation]". And I thought about it for a long time, read about it, talked to colleagues. And then I did it, the deep stimulation.

Doctor's recommendation

The reasons why people decide to have deep brain stimulation are usually related to the heavy burden of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and the hope that these will become less severe after the procedure and that the quality of life will improve. Before agreeing to have the surgery, people need time to think about the risks, also together with their family, and also get a second opinion.

Decision making

Mario T. is supposed to count during the operation.

Interviewer: That's when you're partly awake.
Mario T.: Yes, Mr [name] always said, "Mr T., count to 'one, two, three, four'". I had to count to twenty. [...] I didn't notice much, even though I was awake.

Count

The surgical procedure to implant the electrodes in the brain as well as the pacemaker in the upper part of the body usually takes between five to six hours and is partly done while the patient is awake. Some centres perform the surgery as a two-stage procedure, where the stimulator itself is implanted in a second surgery. Those affected remember certain situations and impressions during this part of the operation (e.g. being asked to count out loud; noises), some of which were unpleasant (e.g. having a steel ring put on; jaw clenched). Relatives report that the time of waiting until the operation is over is nerve-wracking for them and the relief is great when it is over. For relatives, the first sight of the newly operated person can also be frightening, as the external appearance of the head has changed (e.g. shaved skull).

Mario T.

Lose optimism

Video Interview

Related experiences

Other experiences by Mario T.

Mario T.