April 11 is World Parkinson’s Day. To mark the occasion, the Center for Parkinson and Movement Disorders at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), the Taiwan Parkinson’s Disease Association, and Bora Health jointly organized a public event titled “Move Your Body and Mind: A Collaborative Treasure Hunt for World Parkinson’s Day.” Nearly a hundred patients, accompanied by family members, took part in a treasure hunt, interactive games, and choral performances. The event provided a platform for participants to showcase the results of their rehabilitation efforts, while encouraging more people living with Parkinson’s disease to step outside and face the challenges of their condition with courage and positivity.
One night, Mr. Chang, a man in his 60s, woke up urgently needing to use the restroom.As he hurried toward the bathroom, he suddenly froze on the spot, like in a game of“ Red Light, Green Light.” Before he could regain control, he experienced involuntary urination. According to Dr. Ruey-Meei Wu, Professor of Neurology at National Taiwan University College of Medicine, this is a common scenario for late stage patients. Due to insufficient nighttime medication, many lose the ability to move, severely compromising their quality of life. As Taiwan’s population continues to age, over 2,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, with the total number of patients now approaching 80,000.
Dr. Ruey-Meei Wu, Chair of the Center for Parkinson and Movement Disorders at National Taiwan University Hospital and President of the Taiwan Parkinson’s Disease Association, explained that Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder. It causes premature aging and a decline in dopamine-producing neurons in the brain’s substantia nigra, resulting in insufficient dopamine levels and disrupted neural signaling that affects motor coordination. Early symptoms may include tremors on one side of the body, joint stiffness, slowed movement, stooped posture, smaller steps, reduced facial expressions, soft speech, smaller handwriting, poor balance, and joint pain. If two or more of these symptoms appear, seek immediate medical attention.
Current treatment for Parkinson’s disease primarily relies on dopamine replacement therapies, such as Levodopa, dopamine agonists, COMT inhibitors, and MAO-B inhibitors. However, Dr. Ruey-Meei Wu noted that after years of treatment, patients often face diminishing drug efficacy. When the medication is active, they can move with relative ease, but once it wears off, many patients, particularly those in advanced stages, experience a sudden shutdown marked by severe stiffness, slowed movement, delayed reactions, and difficulty walking. This frequently results in falls and injuries.
The key to effective treatment lies in maintaining adequate drug levels, particularly Levodopa, to ensure a stable concentration in the bloodstream. With advances in pharmaceutical technology, extended-release formulations help sustain therapeutic levels for longer periods, reducing the frequency of symptom fluctuations. However, under Taiwan’s current National Health Insurance (NHI) policy, reimbursement is limited to four pills per day. In reality, optimal treatment often requires six to eight pills, making dose adjustment difficult and leaving patients vulnerable to sudden motor shutdown episodes.
On World Parkinson’s Day, Bora Health calls for collective action to encourage patients to stay active both physically and mentally. The company also urges the National Health Insurance Administration to review current reimbursement criteria for Parkinson’s medications and to consider subsidizing the cost of Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS). These changes would give doctors better tools to help patients regain motor function and reduce the impact of debilitating symptoms such as freezing and tremors.