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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Frequent Bouts Of Congestion In Lungs Of A PSP Patient?

My dad has PSP. He getting progressively worse. He has lost the ability to move his extremities, swallow, and talk. He has a PEG tube for feeding. Now he has frequent bouts of increased congestion and can t cough effectively to clear his upper airways. What can I expect as his disease progress continues? I feel that he is trapped in a body that no longer works. He does seem to still be cognitively intact. How long can this stage last?
Tue, 16 Jul 2019
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Neurologist,  's  Response
Hi,

There are no specific treatments known yet to treat PSP which falls into the category of a Parkinson's PLUS disease or syndrome. It is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease that as you've described eventually affects all body functions and takes away speech and language as well as swallowing ability.

You are correct that many people remain clear and aware of their surroundings for quite some time.

Have you contacted the PSP society of America? They are an excellent organization who may be able to guide to you items of interest that can help him with things such as ambulation, swallowing issues, and connect you to other people and families suffering from this illness. Here is their website....they are excellent for supporting ideas and connections even to doctors who specialize and treat patients with PSP...even though as I said, a cure does not as yet exist....but they are trying...We are all trying to find what exactly causes this to trigger.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Dariush Saghafi, Neurologist
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What Causes Frequent Bouts Of Congestion In Lungs Of A PSP Patient?

Hi, There are no specific treatments known yet to treat PSP which falls into the category of a Parkinson s PLUS disease or syndrome. It is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease that as you ve described eventually affects all body functions and takes away speech and language as well as swallowing ability. You are correct that many people remain clear and aware of their surroundings for quite some time. Have you contacted the PSP society of America? They are an excellent organization who may be able to guide to you items of interest that can help him with things such as ambulation, swallowing issues, and connect you to other people and families suffering from this illness. Here is their website....they are excellent for supporting ideas and connections even to doctors who specialize and treat patients with PSP...even though as I said, a cure does not as yet exist....but they are trying...We are all trying to find what exactly causes this to trigger. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Dariush Saghafi, Neurologist