Palliative care is not often thought of in relation to Parkinson’s disease, but as people understand its relevance and benefits, more people with Parkinson’s are adding it to their usual care. Palliation means to ease the burden of the symptoms of a disease, whether that burden is physical, emotional, or spiritual, and that burden can extend beyond the person with the disease to caregivers. Benzi Kluger, MD, MS, director of the University of Colorado’s Neurology and Supportive Care clinics, says that palliative care should begin at the time of diagnosis. He describes the results of a new study on palliative care in Parkinson’s and how it benefited the study participants who received it and viewed it as ‘supportive care’, as well as how palliative care can be incorporated in the day to day routine of people with Parkinson’s.
Related Resources
- Register Today - Expert Briefing: Advanced PD and Palliative Care in the 21st Century (webinar)
- Research Round Up: The Future of Neurology-Driven Palliative Care Programs
- A Caregiver’s Guide to Parkinson’s Disease: Caring and Coping (book)
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About This Episode
Released: November 6, 2018
Benzi Kluger, MD, MS
Dr. Kluger is a Colorado native who completed an undergraduate degree in psychology, medical school and neurology residency at the University of Colorado before going to the University of Florida to complete fellowships in movement disorders and behavioral neurology. He is currently a professor of neurology and the director of the neurology supportive and palliative care program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. In addition to seeing patients in the supportive and palliative care clinic, he directs a very active research program working towards improving therapies for non-motor symptoms (e.g. Fatigue, dementia) and improving standards of care for patients and caregivers through supportive and palliative care models. His research has been funded by the Michael J Fox Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, the Davis Phinney Foundation and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
