Awakenings Response

Awakenings was an excellent movie that introduced me to Encephalitis lethargica (EL). This film was based on the book, Awakenings by Dr. Oliver Sacks a neurologist currently practicing at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Sacks was a neurologist at Beth Abraham Hospital in the Bronx where he came across a group of patients that had been in a catatonic state for decades. He found that this group of patients had contracted EL during the EL epidemic from 1917 to 1928. He treated these patients with Levodopa or L-dopa, which caused them to come out of their catatonia. Dr. Sacks wrote about his patients in his book that was eventually made into the movie we viewed.

I have to admit that when watching the film I expected this total breakthrough with the treatment of L-Dopa and the full recovery of all the patients. So, the outcome at the end of the movie was a definite letdown, since L-Dopa’s effects on the patients was only temporary. They were so close to normalcy and good health, and yet so far. I cannot even imagine how they must have felt when the medicine that gave them another chance at life started working against them. The fear and the disappointment portrayed in the movie was heartbreaking to watch. Also, Leonard Lowe’s will to fight back against his disease when it was taking over him again made me admire him so much. And in agreement with Burd, Lowe helped raise awareness of not only L-Dopa but of Encephalitis lethargica.

As a side note, no recurrence of this epidemic has been reported since. And this just gives me a peace of mind because I think that EL is almost as bad as death, since it teases the patients and their families. It teases them by keeping their body alive but not their mind. For example, in their catatonic state their inability to verbally communicate is difficult for the patients but also for the families.

This web site provides information on Encephalitis lethargica:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalitis_lethargica/encephalitis_lethargica.htm

This is a great site that provides detailed information on L-Dopa:
http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_levadopa_l-dopa_000051_7.htm