Wanted: Volunteers for Malta Parkinson’s Disease Association committee

The Malta Parkinson’s Disease Association (MPDA) came into being and was registered in 2008, is not government-funded and relies on donations, fund-raising and membership subscriptions.

All committee members are volunteers. It is the only association giving support to people with Parkinson’s together with their carers, families and friends in Malta.

To keep the association running we desperately need at least six committed and enthusiastic people to form a full committee to take the association forward.

If anyone thinks they could help, I invite them contact me on tel: 2146 2196 or e-mail: maltaparkinsons@onvol.net for more information. We also have a website: www.maltaparkinsons.com.

MPDA’s work is very worthwhile because no person should live with Parkinson’s alone and not have access to moral support and helpful advice outside the medical profession.

This month we will be distributing the Maltese language edition of the booklet Life with Parkinson’s, which has been translated and printed in Malta and produced in conjunction with the European Parkinson’s Disease Association of which MPDA is a member.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition affecting movement, including walking, writing and talking. Parkinson’s occurs when around 80 per cent of the substance called dopamine, contained in cells in the part of the brain which controls movement, is lost, making that part of the brain unable to function normally.

The main symptoms are tremor (shaking) slowness of movement and stiffness or rigidity in the muscles.

Medication, mainly prescription drugs, are used to help control the symptoms. At present there is no cure but much progress has been made in treatment, and research to find a cure continues in many countries.