Book Review: Parkinson's Treatment: 10 Secrets to a Happier Life

Author: Dr. Michael Okun, MD
 Professor, University of Florida
amazon.com (2013)
 
 
 
Review by Dr. Laura Silveira, MD, PhD
Clinical Research Fellow
UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square
London, United Kingdom
 
May 2013
 
This captivating book is narrated throughout in first person by the charismatic co-director of the multidisciplinary Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration at the University of Florida, Dr. Michael Okun, MD. It is amazing that the book is available in over 20 languages on www.smashwords.com and on amazon.com
 
With tremendous insight Dr. Okun approaches the main questions that populate the minds of sufferers and carers who battle PD on the daily-basis. Examples include the common confusion between PD and ALS or Alzheimer's, the oversight of non-motor symptoms, and the difficult decisions regarding timing to initiate levodopa or how to be thinking about deep brain stimulation.
 
The book is divided into 10 main chapters, each touching one “secret” that can make coping with Parkinson’s easier:
 
1) Know the signs of the disease
2) Optimize timing of therapeutic decisions
3) Think about deep brain stimulation
4) Get psychiatric comorbidities treated
5) Manage sleep disorders
6) Understand the dopaminergic side effects
7) Exercise!
8) Learn to deal with hospitalization
9) Ask about new therapies
10) Appreciate life and live beyond the disease
 
For colleagues and patients alike, it will be alluring to follow his inside stories detailing the various advances in the field in the last decades. Amongst all the pearls do not miss the candid account of how he and Dr. Kelly Foote started the world renowned movement disorders center at Florida University.
 
Overall, this is a wonderful addition to the scarce patient-related literature in the ever growing field of Parkinson's disease and an engaging endeavor from a world-wide leading clinical researcher. And it is probably the only PD patient oriented book available in over 20 languages! A thumbs-up.