The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV- 2) has led to a serious global health crisis. Increasing evidence suggests that elderly individuals with underlying chronic diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), are particularly vulnerable to this infection. Changes in the routine care of PD patients should be implemented carefully without affecting the quality provided. The utilization of telemedicine for clinical consultation, assessment and rehabilitation has also been widely recommended. Therefore, the aim of this review is to provide recommendations in the management of PD during the pandemic as well as in the early phase of vaccination programs to highlight the potential sequelae and future perspectives of vaccination and further research in PD. Even though a year has passed since COVID- 19 emerged, most of us are still facing great challenges in providing a continuum of care to patients with chronic neurological disorders. However, we should regard this health crisis as an opportunity to change our routine approach in managing PD patients and learn more about the impact of SARS-CoV-2. Hopefully, PD patients can be vaccinated promptly, and more detailed research related to PD in COVID-19 can still be carried out.
Background:Migraine is one of the most common disabling neurological disorder among adult population in Malaysia. Purpose:To evaluate demographic characteristics among the migraine patients.Methods:A total of 73 patients with the complain of headache, who aged 18 to 65 were recruited prospectively at neurology clinic from December 2017 to April 2019 in Kuala Lumpur Hospital. All new patients were mainly referred by primary care clinics. Demographic characteristics such as age and gender, age of onset, clinical phenotypes, trigger factors, rescue therapy, prophylaxis usage, frequency of headache, psychiatric symptoms, marital status and education level were all evaluated. Migraine headaches were coded according to ICHD-III criteria. Statistical analysis was analysed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics, mean and standard deviation were used to evaluate for clinical data.Results:44 out of 73 patients had migraine (60.3%). The mean age of migraine patients was 30 and mean age of onset was 24.8. Majority of the sample were female (36, 81.8%), single (23.52.3%) and with tertiary education level (31, 70.5%). The most frequent symptoms included unilateral headache (36, 81.8%) with throbbing in quality (39, 88.6%). The main trigger factor was stress (23, 52.3%). The most frequently used rescue therapies are sleeping and paracetamol ingestion (18, 40.9%). Most of the patients experienced acute attack 4-14 days in a month (15, 34.1%). 42(95.5%) patients were prophylaxis naïve.Conclusion:Characteristics of the migraine patients in Kuala Lumpur Hospital are comparable with previous studies. A registry of headache patients is crucial to determine the prevalence and local impact of the disease in Malaysia.
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