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FALL 1995 ISSUE: NEUROLOGY AND AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS

Vascular Radiology Update

here have been advancements in the
treatment of patients with leg pain
caused by poor circulation. One such ad-
vancement is the placement of stents, small
tubes of stainless steel,
within the inner walls
of blood vessels. The
stents are placed in
pelvic arteries to treat
narrowings caused by
atherosclerosis, thereby
improving blood flow.
This can usually be done
without requiring sur-
gery. Patients are dis-
charged the day after
the procedure and can
recover much faster
than they can from
surgery.
Stents are used in many blood vessels, in-
cluding the aorta, kidney arteries, and large
veins. They improve circulation and can even
treat high blood pressure in some cases.
There are many types of noninvasive treat-
ments available to patients at Sinai's
Department of Diagnostic Imaging/Radiolo-
gy, including blood vessel x rays, balloon
angioplasty, and noncardiac vascular stent
placement.

Dialysis is Available at Sinai

inai Hospital, in a joint venture with
1.3 Henry Ford Health System, has opened
the College Park Dialysis Center for out-
patient dialysis at Outer Drive and the
Southfield Expressway. The Center, with
24 dialysis stations, will greatly expand
outpatient dialysis service in the metro-
politan area. For more information on ser-
vices, call 313-653-2850.

Join Sinai's
Volunteer Family

Tolunteers are needed to serve in many
V areas of the hospital that offer interest-
ing and meaningful opportunities for per-
sonal satisfaction. Some services include:

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Sinai Specialists Fine-Tune Management
Of People With Parkinson's

on't be surprised if someday some-
one hands you a card that says, "I
am ill. I have a condition called
Parkinson's Disease which makes
me slow and sometimes I cannot
stand up or speak. I AM NOT IN-
TOXICATED. Please call my family for help."
Parkinson's Disease is one of the most misun-
derstood diseases around, and it is far from rare.
In Michigan alone, an estimated 35,000 people
suffer from it. Many people with Parkinson's car-
ry this card at all times so they won't be taken
for drunk when they are really struggling with
symptoms of this mysterious disorder.
"I really wish people would just ask me
what's wrong and we could talk about it,"
says Dwayne Ramsey, of Taylor, who was
diagnosed with Parkinson's 11 years ago
at age 39. "Once I explain that some-
times I get very stiff and have trouble
moving and even speaking as fast as I
would like, people understand and they
won't get the wrong idea about me."
Ramsey, who works, travels, and
enjoys life with his wife Jan, is being
treated at Sinai's Clinical Neuroscience
Center in West Bloomfield. He is lean,
fit, and looks younger than his 50 years.
A realistic attitude towards his disabili-
ty is one of the keys to living with Parkin-
son's, he believes. Ramsey maintains a
healthy lifestyle and follows a carefully
timed and intricate medication schedule.
His physician, Richard Trosch, MD,
has prescribed a combination of different
drugs that are custom-tailored
to suit his particular needs as
Correct diagnosis
a Parkinson's patient. These
is vital
medications are closely moni-
in treatment.
tored, and are changed from
time to time if side effects oc-
cur or new and better drugs are avail-
able. Watching their patients carefully
is part of the Clinical Neuroscience
Center's secret to success. Adds Peter
LeWitt, MD, "Sometimes our solution
is to evaluate medications on a cost-benefit basis.
These drugs are expensive and if they're not do-
ing what we want them to, it's better to discon-
tinue." This expertise and attentiveness explain
why so many people with Parkinson's Disease
have become patients at this specialized clinical
and research center.
What is Parkinson's Disease? Scientists have
been scratching their heads over this question for
almost 150 years, ever since the collection of signs
and symptoms was first described by James
Parkinson, a British physician. For some as yet
unexplained reason, certain cells in the lower part

of the brain, called the substantia nigra, are de-
stroyed. Without these cells, this brain region can-
not produce dopamine, an important body
chemical involved in the brain's coordination of
body movement.
Lack of dopamine results in the classic Parkin-
son's symptoms of shaking, stiffness, slowness in
movement and speech, and inability to coordinate
movements, such as the fine movements involved
in buttoning a shirt or brushing teeth. Parkin-
son's does not discriminate. It is found equally in
men and women of all races and ethnic back-
grounds. While it tends to occur most often in

middle-age, people as young as their thirties can
also develop Parkinson's.
One of many myths about Parkinson's is that
it always progresses to the point where a person
is completely disabled or dies an early death. Drs.
LeWitt and Trosch admit they don't have all
the answers to Parkinson's, but they believe that
careful and attentive management, such as that
provided at the Center, allows a person with
Parkinson's to be reasonably productive and
active over a normal lifespan. "The good news is

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