Home / Critical illness cover / - Parkinson’s Disease
Background information
There are more than 120,000 people who have Parkinson's - that's 1 in every 500 people - and this figure is rising.
Around 10,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's each year.
Most people are diagnosed over the age of 60, but it is estimated that 1 in 20 people with Parkinson's are under age 40 when diagnosed and 1 in 7 are under 50. (Parkinson's Disease Society, 2002)
Definition
Confirmation by a Consultant Neurologist of a definite diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease secondary to drug misuse is not covered.
What does this mean?
Parkinson’s disease causes a disturbance of voluntary movement. It causes tremors in the limbs and head and rigidity of the muscles. The condition usually takes a long time to progress and some drugs are available which can slow the process down even further. But treatment becomes less effective as time goes by. For a claim to be paid the onset of Parkinson’s disease must be idiopathic. This means it must have developed naturally rather than because of some other medical treatment or illness.
20 August 2007 16:46:04
Chinese men with a history of high alcohol consumption should ensure that they have adequate life insurance and critical illness cover, new research has revealed.
According to study carried out at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, heavy drinking can increase the risk of stroke among Chinese men.
Relative stroke risk was found to be 0.92 for those who consumed between one and six drinks a week, 1.02 for those drinking between one and 20 times per week and 1.22 for consumers of 21 or more drinks each week.
"Alcohol consumption was significantly related to increased stroke incidence and mortality," the report published in the Annals of Neurology medical journal reads.
"At the top level of alcohol consumption (at least 35 drinks per week), risk of stroke incidence was 22 per cent higher and risk of mortality was 30 per cent higher than among nondrinkers."
It added: "Our findings are likely to be applicable to men of other ethnicities because they are based on proven physiological mechanisms.
"Preventing heavy alcohol consumption (more than 21 drinks per week) among men may be one element of multi-faceted public health strategies to reduce stroke burden in the world."
08 April 2008 17:27:49
Caffeine may be able to protect people against multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers claim.
Scientists at Cornell University in the US found that mice given the caffeine equivalent of six to eight cups of coffee a day were protected from developing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of MS.
The experts believe that their research shows the importance of caffeine as a blocker to the receptor of a molecule called adenosine and could lead to new treatments for MS - which may affect the life insurance policies of sufferers of the disease.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that occurs when the body's immune system attacks and damages nerves in the brain and spinal cord, Medical News Today reports.
The researchers believe that adenosine is responsible for the movement of immune cells into the brain and the spinal cord and that caffeine may be able to block this process.
Dr Margaret Bynoe, one of scientists behind the research said: "These results might mark the first in a series of discoveries from our lab that could spawn the impetus for the development of adenosine-based therapies for the treatment of MS."
According to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, around 85,000 people in the UK suffer from the illness.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
29 April 2008 13:36:17
A drastic transformation of British traditions would be required to tackle social factors which encourage people to consume too much alcohol, one expert has claimed.
Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: "A whole sea change of activities would need to take place in order to change our culture and to change the way we think about alcohol."
His comments follow research from the organisation which found that one in nine adult men living in Britain in 2000 were dependent on alcohol - a factor which may affect their life insurance policies.
Mr Shenker added that it would not be "impossible" to make changes "but I think it would take a concerted effort on the part of the government, the drinks industry and everyone involved".
Pubs and clubs places should be promoted as places where people socialise, as opposed to go to get intoxicated, and supermarkets need to stop selling alcohol at a discount, he said.
Alcohol Concern is a national agency which works to reduce the incidence and costs of alcohol-related harm and to increase the range and quality of services available to people with problems connected to the substance.
Please click here for advice on UK life insurance, life insurance policies and a life insurance quote
