“It’s an incredible feeling, I have my mobility back and feel like I’m 30,” says Parkinson’s patient Josef Katzengruber, happy about a new therapy pump that has given him back a lot of quality of life in just a few days.
The therapy pump for the treatment of Parkinson’s patients has been available from the Brothers of Mercy since December 2023 and effectively alleviates symptoms through the continuous delivery of medication. It enables precise dosage and significantly improves the quality of life of those affected, says senior physician Selina Haas.
“It’s incredible”
“It’s like day and night, just a few hours after I got the pump I was able to move normally again. It wasn’t just a small improvement, I feel like a young man again,” says Josef Katzengruber happily. “In the last few years it was difficult for me to walk and I couldn’t talk at the same time. It’s working again now, it’s unbelievable,” says the 65-year-old pensioner from Waldhausen (Perg district).
“We have waited a long time for the opportunity to use the new system,” says senior physician Selina Haas. At the end of 2023, the pump with the active ingredient foslevodopa was finally approved in Austria. The medication is delivered subcutaneously, i.e. under the skin, into fatty tissue using a tube and a small needle. Until now, long-term patients had to take tablets regularly. “The problem was that they had to be taken half an hour before and one hour after a meal. But the longer the illness lasts, the more often the tablets have to be taken, sometimes every three hours, so coordination becomes complicated,” she said medical doctor.
In addition, long-term patients also struggle with fluctuations in effectiveness, which means that the tablets no longer take effect immediately. “Thanks to the new pump, these problems are a thing of the past,” says the head of the outpatient clinic for Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders. Primary Christian Lampl, head of neurology, also speaks of a game changer.
A new life has begun for Josef Katzengruber. “I’m incredibly grateful to the doctors that I was given this opportunity. Since my diagnosis in 2013, I’ve had to give up a lot. My wife and I used to enjoy going dancing or going to the thermal spa, but that hasn’t been possible in the last few years. Now I have new strength to do it again.”
More information on the topic
Parkinson’s is one of the most common neurological diseases worldwide, with up to 20,000 people affected in Austria. Symptoms include movement disorders such as tremors, muscle stiffness and slow movements. The basis is a gradual loss of dopamine-containing nerve cells in the brain, which can be alleviated with medication. However, as the disease progresses, the impairment increases, and in the advanced stages, patients also suffer from fluctuations in the effects of the medication. Pump systems provide continuous dosage and compensate for fluctuations, which brings a significant increase in quality of life.
The pump is installed stationary at the Brothers of Mercy. Patients spend two to three days in the hospital, during which time the pump is adjusted and the person concerned is trained.
