I took part in another research study today, this one at the University of Washington. As part of the study I had UPDRS assessments both Off medication and On medication, the first such tests I've had since receiving the plasma infusions at Stanford in January and February. The section of the UPDRS that I have scores for is the Movement part, section 3. My Off medication score was three points lower than my initial Stanford assessment and my On medication score was three points higher than at Stanford. Of course the raters were different people and the scores are subjective, but I think we can safely say that my Parkinson's is closer to what it was before I started the infusions than when I ended them.

At first I felt sad. Then I took a closer look. I've had nearly 3 months of greatly reduced PD symptoms; the main annoying symptoms (nausea, constipation, anxiety, apathy, low energy, etc.) are still gone. I have a little dyskinesia and still have a really hard time in noisy spaces later in the evening, my sense of smell is disappearing again but still... none of us expected any positive outcomes to last beyond the actual infusions. What a fortunate woman I am!