How to Prevent Sudden “Off” Episodes
Substantial Matters: Life & Science of Parkinson’s
English - April 04, 2023 11:00 - 19 minutes - 15.7 MB - ★★★★ - 121 ratingsMedicine Health & Fitness parkinsons parkinson Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
“Off” episodes can become a troubling aspect of Parkinson’s disease (PD), especially as the disease progresses. These are periods in the day when the effect of levodopa medication wears off, either suddenly or gradually, with a return of motor or non-motor symptoms.
The good news is that there are several ways to try to minimize “off” episodes, including medication timing, medication adjustments, and add-on medications. In this podcast episode, Dr. George Kannarkat, a movement disorders fellow at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, discusses “off” episodes, their causes, strategies that people can use today to minimize them, and what new technologies are here or coming along to help lessen them.