Coast woman’s Parkinson’s battle as UQ researchers offer new hope

Sandi Gerschwitz describes living with Parkinson's as being ‘in a wetsuit full of sand’ as Queensland researchers unveil a drug that could halt the disease.

Sandi Gerschwitz lives with early onset Parkinson's. Picture: Sandi Gerschwitz.

A Sunshine Coast resident living with Parkinson’s says her daily life is like being “in a wetsuit full of sand”.

Sandi Gerschwitz was first diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s at 45 in 2019, first noticing changes while she was hairdressing in 2014.

Sandi Gerschwitz was first diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s at 45 years-old. Picture: Sandi Gerschwitz.

■ MOST READ: The best cheeses for your health revealed

“I was just going to the doctor and initially telling her that my brain was hurting when I wrote with my hand, and then onwards when I was hairdressing my fingers were coming in and out of the scissors strangely,” Ms Gerschwitz said.

“Then it went from that to my feet where my foot start turning in, and I had to start going to physio massage weekly and fortnightly.”

Ms Gerschwitz compared Parkinson’s as living “in a wetsuit full of sand” due to her body feeling like concrete.

“I have sometimes my right side, in particular, my leg or my arm will go really dead like concrete and it can’t move,” Ms Gerschwitz said.

When she was asked how the disease impacted her lifestyle, Ms Gerschwitz said a better question was “how it doesn’t”.

Ms Gerschwitz compared living with Parkinson’s as being “in a wetsuit full of sand”. Picture: Sandi Gerschwitz.

“From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, even though your brain is saying you can do things, your reliant on your body,” Ms Gerschwitz said.

“Often I’ll go into Parkinson’s mode and everybody around me gets frustrated because if my body just won’t move I’ll need help up to move or sit there and wait it out until my body turns on.”

The new anti-inflammatory oral drug developed by UQ researchers could accelerate Parkinson’s treatment, potentially changing the lives of many people living with the disease, like Ms Gerschwitz.

Ms Gerschwitz said research into Parkinson’s treatment was “really important”.

Ms Gerschwitz said research “is really important”. Picture: Sandi Gerschwitz.

“It’s really important for researchers to get out there and keep on researching, marketing it and putting it out there and getting people to try different things because we don’t know what’s going to work for some people,” Ms Gerschwitz said

“Because the condition has so many varieties and vast aspects of it, it’s not one thing for everybody.”

New anti-inflammatory drug

UQ researchers observed the effects of the anti-inflammatory drug, for the first time, by using advanced imaging on the living brain.

Lead author Dr Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda from the School of Biomedical Science said testing in mice models showed the new drug “blocked inflammation in the brain and helped improve motor function”.

Lead author Dr Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda said the new drug “block inflammation in the brain and helped improve motor function”. Picture: David Clark

“Inflammation acts like a slow-burning fire in the brain, progressively damaging the neurons that produce dopamine – the chemical which controls movement,” Dr Albornoz Balmaceda said.

“Our study showed this drug, which targets part of the immune system called ‘inflammasomes’, reduced brain inflammation and prevented the disease from killing more neurons, therefore stopping its progression.”

The study showed the drug stopped the disease killing more neurons. Picture: David Clark

Senior author, Professor Trent Woodruff, said the drug was “a huge step forward” in Parkinson’s treatment.

“Parkinson’s is one of the fastest growing neurodegenerative diseases, and it is expected to impact more than 25 million people by 2050,” Professor Woodruff said.

“Current therapies can alleviate symptoms but do not significantly slow or stop progression of the disease.

“This new class of drugs aims to do exactly that, and by combining it with cutting-edge PET/MRI biomarkers, we can measure whether it’s truly protecting the brain.”

Professor Woodruff said the promise of the oral drug combined with the imaging strategy could “could accelerate drug discovery for other inflammatory brain diseases”.

The drug was developed by Inflazome. Picture: Lachie Millard

The drug was developed by Inflazome, a company which came out of UQ and the Trinity College Dublin Professor Luke O’Neill and paper co-corresponding author Professor Matt Cooper.

Ms Gerschwitz said she wants people to be aware that people with Parkinson’s might “look fine, but inside there’s a lot going on”. “

“You never know when you’re going to have a Parkinson’s off or a Parkinson’s on,” Ms Gerschwitz said.

“There really needs to be a lot more awareness and understanding out there.”

Originally published as Coast woman’s Parkinson’s battle as UQ researchers offer new hope