2024-03-27 18:03:44
The district clinic in Krumbach has recently started using a new generation of dopamine pumps. The clinic is one of the first in Germany.
Frank Berger pushes a walker in front of him in the Krumbach Clinic. The legs don’t really want to. They are stiff, awkward movements. And yet Frank Berger is extremely satisfied that he can take one step at a time. This is not a given. This is made possible by a newly developed pump, which makes short excursions much easier for Parkinson’s patients because it is small and inconspicuous.
Outsiders don’t even notice that the needle attached under the fatty tissue, which is connected to a tube, a pump and the dopamine depot it contains, acts as a “whole package” to regulate Berger’s dopamine levels. The previous model was difficult to handle and much more uncomfortable for patients, reports Dr. Joachim Durner, chief physician for general internal medicine and geriatrics at the Krumbach Clinic. “This means a real increase in quality of life, especially for people who are already in an advanced stage of Parkinson’s.”
The Krumbacher Hospital is one of the first in Germany to provide this new generation of pumps for its patients. In addition to being much easier to use, there are other advantages: The device weighs much less than its predecessor model. And above all: The connection is not surgically fixed in the stomach as before. This means that there is no tube hanging out of the person affected by Parkinson’s.
Support in a difficult phase
“In the past, many patients didn’t want to leave the house because they were ashamed of an illness that was already stigmatizing. Now they can take part in social life once more,” says Dr. Durner. The chief physician is grateful for the happy moments of people who are in a difficult phase of their lives.
Of course, it has long been possible to adjust the dopamine level by taking medication in tablet form. However, this becomes increasingly difficult as the disease progresses. “The therapeutic window is getting smaller. “It’s like an archer always having to hit the bull’s eye from ever greater distances,” says Dr. Durner. For those affected, in a later stage of the disease, this means having to take up to ten tablets over 24 hours – day following day, night following night. Constantly having to think regarding it causes stress. (AZ)
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