emirates7 - Close to 500 people put their best foot forward to raise awareness about Parkinson’s disease at the Ramadan Night Run organised by Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a Mubadala Health partner, which took place at Yas Acres Golf and Country Club.

Participants of all ages took part in one of three distance runs – 2.5km, 5km and 10km – around the floodlit golf course, cheered on by a large gathering of supporters, ahead of World Parkinson’s Day on 11 April. The aim of the run is to emphasise that keeping active is an important factor in managing the disease for the millions of people around the world who live with Parkinson’s - the world’s fastest-growing neurodegenerative condition.

Commenting on the Ramadan Night Run, Dr. Shivam Mittal, Staff Physician at the Neurological Institute and a Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders specialist at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said, "Through such events and awareness initiatives, we reinforce our message to Parkinson’s disease patients to remain active and to exercise safely, and to reassure them that they are not alone in their fight against the disease, and that we are with them every step of the way."

Ahead of the start of the race there were a series of talks by leading experts from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. This included a ‘Parkinson’s Disease Awareness’ session, followed by an informative talk on ‘Managing Parkinson’s during Ramadan’; and advice shared on ‘How to speak loud and clear with Parkinson’s’.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has also set up a virtual challenge suitable for Parkinson’s disease patients and members of the wider community who could not participate in the run and continues until the end of April. The "Virtual Challenge" is open to participants from across Abu Dhabi, the UAE and further afield. Members of the community wishing to learn more about the challenge and to join are encouraged to visit Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi-Parkinson’s Disease Virtual Challenge.

While patients in the UAE previously had to travel overseas for treatment, the Parkinson’s Disease and Research Centre at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi was founded in 2019 – the first centre of its kind in the UAE, which provides a range of medical and surgical treatment options for patients with Parkinson’s disease, including Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), pump therapies such as intestinal dopamine gel therapy (DUOPA pump), and apomorphine pump therapy, supported by a multidisciplinary team, including neurologists, psychiatrists, gastroenterologists, urologists, neurosurgons, neurorehabilitation teams, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.

This all has, and continues to, significantly reduce the burden of travelling abroad, since world-class treatment and management of the disease is now readily available in the UAE.