Name: Leo Walter Leriche
Sex: Male
Country: Australian
Age: 78
Diagnoses: 1.Parkinson's disease 2. Post-prostatectomy 3. Hypertension level 1, medium risk 4. Post- appendectomy 5. Post- cataract extraction
Admission Date: March 8, 2012
Days Admitted to Hospital: 28

Leo underwent a prostatectomy in 2006 as a result of prostate cancer. During the physical examination, the doctor noticed static tremors in the right arm. Soon after, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and was prescribed Madopar for treatment which was temporarily effective for the symptoms. As the static tremors got worse, the dosage of Madopar was increased but the symptoms got more severe as time went on. Two years ago, the right leg developed static tremors as well. Additional symptoms included difficulty with writing and speech impairment. Leo's doctor continued prescribing Madopar and added Pramipexole to try to control the symptoms. About one year ago, Leo felt weakness in his neck and had difficulty holding his head up when he walked. The static tremors were not noticeable 3 to 4 hours after taking the medication. But Leo continuously had difficulty supporting his head whenever he walked.

Admission PE:
Bp: 149/86mmHg; Hr: 44/min. Through auscultation, the respiratory sounds in both lungs were found to be clear with no signs of dry or moist rales. The heart sounds were low, and the cardiac rhythm was irregular. There was no murmur in the valves. The abdomen was smooth and soft, with no pressing pain or rebound pain. There was no edema in the lower limbs. The space between the lower jaw and the sternum was 4cms in the standing position. The muscle tone of the neck and fascia was high.

Nervous System Examination:
Leo was alert, but his language was vague. He spoke too quickly. The memory, calculation ability and orientation were normal. Both pupils were equal in size and round, the diameter was about 3.0mms. The movement of both eyeballs was flexible and both pupils were sensitive to light stimuli. The convergence ability of both eyes was normal. The forehead wrinkle pattern and nasolabial groove were symmetrical. The tongue was centered in the oral cavity. There were no tremors or atrophy in the tongue muscle. The raising ability of the soft palate was normal. The uvula was centered. The muscle strength and muscle tone of all four limbs were normal (when under the control of medication). There were slight tremors in the right upper limb when the limb was extended straight out. There were no slight tremors in the left upper limb when the limb was extended straight out. There were tremors in the right lower limb when it was in a state of tension. The biceps reflex and triceps reflex of both upper limbs and radial periosteal reflex were normal. The patellar tendon reflex of both lower limbs was normal. The bilateral Achilles tendon reflex was diminished. The bilateral abdominal reflexes were normal. The bilateral Hoffmann's sign was negative. The bilateral sucking reflex was negative. The bilateral palm jaw reflex was negative, and the bilateral Babinski's sign was negative. There was some slight hearing loss. The deep, shallow, and epicritic sensation was normal. The right side was able to finish the rapid rotation test and finger-to-nose-test, but in a clumsy manner. The left side was able to finish the rapid rotation test and finger-to-nose-test in a stable manner. The bilateral heel-knee-shin test was stable and accurate. The walking gait was normal (when under the control of medication). He would nod his head when he walked. The Romberg's sign was positive. The patient received related examination and the blood pressure over 140/90mmHg for several times.

Treatment:
Leo received all of the relevant examinations. The blood pressure reading was over 140/90mmHg for several times. The diagnoses of: 1.Parkinson's disease, 2. Post-prostatectomy, 3. Hypertension level 1, medium risk, 4. Post- appendectomy, and 5. Post- cataract extraction were clear. He received anti-Parkinson's medication and had the blood vessels expanded to improve the blood-supply, and nourishment for the neurons. He also received treatment to strengthen the immune system and had the blood pressure brought under control. This was combined with physical rehabilitation therapy.

Post-Treatment:
The tension in the neck and fascia has been reduced obviously. The space between the lower jaw and sternum is more than 8cms. The nod position is not so severe when he walks. He has more facial expressions and smiles more often. The speech is clearer and the speech tempo is almost normal. The handwriting micrographia is not as severe. The tremors in the right limbs have decreased. The tremor in right limb has no end of dose phenomenon. There were no obvious tremors while in the static state. The tremors while in a state of tension or when doing fine movements have been alleviated. Both sides of the body can now finish the rapid rotation test, digit opposition test and finger-to-nose-test in a stable manner. The walking has become noticeably more stable. And the walking speed has increased. The Romberg`s sign is now negative. The bladder control has improved. The blood pressure was stable at 110-135/60-85mmHg, after the drug therapy.

Leo and his family members are satisfied with the treatment results. They expressed their thanks to the entire staff at Wu Stem Cells Medical Center. We all hope Leo will continue making progress after he goes home.

2012-05-09

Leo emai to us:

Dear,

It appears that I am doing very well since I came back to earth. My head is erect and everyone says that I look very different meaning much better. I'm taking my medication that it was so complicated that I had the local chemist organize the medication into something called Webster packs. I can manage to take the pills as long as someone else has it all organized. I had a blood test today and I will be sending you the results as soon as I receive them which should be Friday hopefully. Please give my regards to all the staff at the hospital, especially my masseuse whose name I never knew and Phoebe and Tony for all the work they did on me. I saw my GP on Monday and he was most impressed with the way I walked into his office, head upright. I won't be seeing my neurologist for a while but I have sent him my discharge papers from WSCMC and I'm sure that he will be very interested. He once told me that treatment with embryonic stem cells was not going to happen in his lifetime, so I'm sure he will be very interested in me and my progress.

BR,

Leo Leriche

2012-06-12

Leo Leriche email to us:

Hi Grischa,

My handwriting has improved noticeably. I can now write short sentences and do crossword puzzles without difficulty.

My neurologist has taken me off another medication, the anticoagulant whose name I don't know. I suspect that the medication I am taking now is a continuation of what I was getting in the IV drips at WSCMC.

Greetings
to all the staff, the doctors Liu, the nurses, the masseuse, Phoebe and Tony. My head is still looking up.

Auf Wiedersehen,

Leo L

2012-12-13

Dear Terri,

I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep , so I decided to reply to your letter. First, thank you for the quick reply.
Here are some answers to your questions:
Heart rate just measured was 59
Blood pressure recently measured by my GP, Hira Singh has been about 120/90
Handwriting has returned back to virtually normal.
Friday night I videoed a football (local gridiron) game from a loft on the roof of a stadium. I climbed the spiral staircase twice without difficulty and shot the video by hand (without a tripod).

The tremor in my right arm has virtually disappeared and I can go for perhaps half a day without the Parkinson's medication without difficulty.

I think this covers my results as well as could have been expected.

I miss the staff at WUSCMC who treated me so well and became my friends, especially Phoebe and Joel but most names I have never known.

Leo

2012-12-21

Dear Terri,

Thank you for your letter. I am doing very well. My heart rate at the moment is 76 and it is a very warm morning. My BP is usually about 130/90. The tremor in my right arm has virtually disappeared even without Sifrol and Madopaar. The Parkinson's Association here has been providing weekly physio classes but that is now finished until 17 Feb. I have begun serious workouts according to a prescribed routine at the university gym. I have attached a copy of my current medication which includes diuretics to reduce a bad case of edema which had ballooned my body weight out to 94.6 Kg. I have lost much of that now but I need to lose more. My GP, Dr Hira Singh said yesterday that the stem cells were obviously working. My head is droppish again but that is undoubtedly due to my terrible habit of falling asleep in an armchair at night with my head hanging down and sleeping like that for hours. I am determined to stop doing that.

Greetings to all the hospital staff who helped me while I was there. I became very fond of them and miss them as if they were friends.

Leo