http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Parki...zzi_earthquake
The Abruzzi earthquake
(2009)
At 03.32 Central European Summer Time on the night of 6th April 2009 the city of L'Aquila, which is the capital of the Abruzzo region in Italy, was devastated by a sudden earthquake with a strength of 5.8 on the Richter Scale. There was considerable damage to property, 308 people lost their lives and some 1,500 were injured.However there is a long history of earth tremors in the region and the majority of citizens evacuated their properties forthwith and survived.
It so happened that 70km. away was a Movement Disorder clinic, operated by the University G.D. Annunzio Chieti-Pescari, which had neen monitoring the symptoms of 14 patients in the city with parkinsonism and dementia. The movemnt disorders of all of them were at Hoehn and Yahr stages 3 to 5.
Measurements taken 3 months after the earthquake showed an unaccountable significant improvement in their UPDRS motor rating. There was also considerable anecdotal evidence of their performance at the moment when the earthquake struck:-
"He ran like hell out of the two story building pushing his two children (17 and 15 years old) and his wife" relates to a 59 year old retired chemical engineer in his tenth year since being diagnosed with PD.
"During the earthquake hit he ran from his house." describes a 58 year old retired truck driver five years after PD diagnosis.
"During the night time earthquake, she rose from her bed and hurried out of her apartment at the third floor. When she was examined, 15 days after the earthquake, she walked to the office assisted by her daughter (in the previous visit she had been carried on a wheelchair)." Describes a 90 year old woman with both PD and dementia.
"During the night time earthquake hit he ran away from his second floor apartment." relates to a 77 year od retired public employee.
"During the earthquake, he jumped out of bed and ran through three flights of stairs, carrying and pushing his 72 year old wife (she reported he practically lifted her up through the collapsing apartment and floors)." Part of an account of a 77 year old retired engineer who had experienced PD symptoms for three year.
After 5 months the patients had regressed to their pre-earthquake state. A full account was published by Bonanni et al(2010) Protracted benefit from paradoxical kinesia in typical and atypical parkinsonisms[6]
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