{"id":482992,"date":"2026-06-08T22:57:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T22:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/482992\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T22:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T22:57:20","slug":"experimental-treatment-could-ease-misunderstood-dementia-symptom-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/482992\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimental treatment could ease \u2018misunderstood\u2019 dementia symptom – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toronto neurologist Dr. Galit Kleiner has spent nearly two decades studying a movement disorder that causes uncontrollable muscle stiffness and pain in nearly all of her patients with advanced dementia.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Despite how common it appears to be, she says the condition and new possibilities for treatment have gone largely unrecognized.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a very difficult climb,\u201d said the movement disorders specialist at Baycrest, a geriatric health facility in Toronto. \u201cThere\u2019s been a kind of inertia and nihilism around this population,<\/a> where suffering is seen as almost inevitable and expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kleiner is fighting to change that, by raising awareness about paratonia which is often mistaken for aggression in dementia patients. She\u2019s also at the forefront of groundbreaking research, and experimental treatment offering hope to families.<\/p>\n

Paratonia triggers involuntary muscle reflexes in people with dementia<\/a>, a syndrome that affects roughly a quarter of Canadians over the age of 85. Paratonia can lead to loss of mobility, infections, and make even simple displays of affection, like holding hands, agonizingly difficult.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt can appear as though patients are actively resisting attempts to move their limbs, when in fact it\u2019s a reflex and they have no voluntary control over it,\u201d Kleiner said.<\/p>\n

Paratonia often presents as clenched fists or buckled knees, making everyday tasks such as dressing, going to the bathroom, or even embracing extremely challenging. When a limb is touched, it may respond in the opposite way, attempting to open a closed hand can cause it to tighten further.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re familiar with Newton\u2019s third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That\u2019s what happens when you try to passively move the limb of a person with advanced dementia,\u201d Kleiner explained.<\/p>\n

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Because these movements are often interpreted as resistance to care, paratonia is frequently underdiagnosed, leaving caregivers and families confused and frustrated, she added.<\/p>\n

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But a drug that has been used safely for decades may help change that.<\/p>\n

Botulinum toxin (BoNT-A), commonly known by the brand name Botox, is already part of standard care after stroke and other neurological and muscular conditions to loosen muscles and increase range of motion.<\/p>\n

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When Kleiner began working at Baycrest in 2008, she suspected it might also be able to relieve paratonia and launched experimental trials at the facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne patient after the other came back to me a couple of weeks later,\u201d she said. \u201cSuddenly their hands were relaxed, their elbows were relaxed, and caregivers were saying they weren\u2019t experiencing pain anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The treatment proved life-changing for Rina Paniccia\u2019s 89-year-old father, Giovanni Greco, a resident at Baycrest\u2019s long-term care home. With her father no longer able to communicate, looking after him became \u201ca guessing game,\u201d compounded by constant worry about sores and infections.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was very difficult for us to bathe him, to do daily care, putting a diaper on, putting clothes on him,\u201d Paniccia said.<\/p>\n

Even though her father could not express himself, it was clear he was suffering.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not mobile, and not cognizant, somehow [advanced dementia patients] always show pain,\u201d said Paniccia. \u201cThat\u2019s when we asked for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Baycrest connected her with Kleiner who determined Greco was eligible for the injections.<\/p>\n

Since then, his pain and agitation have eased, allowing Paniccia and her mother to better care for him and reconnect physically.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can go and lift his arm and grab his hand,\u201d she said. \u201cIt brings us great relief and great joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is one of more than 100 patients this experimental therapy has helped, says Kleiner.<\/p>\n

Her findings were published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, outlining how the treatment could possibly move this \u201cpoorly recognized complication to a routinely and proactively managed condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While paratonia is often overlooked in dementia care and sometimes dismissed as a normal part of the disease, Kleiner\u2019s work is beginning to draw wider attention.<\/p>\n

Dr. Paul Katz, a prominent voice in seniors\u2019 care, former head of geriatrics at Florida State University and previous vice-president of medical services at Baycrest, called Kleiner\u2019s research an \u201caha moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen the manifestations of paratonia for as long as I have been practicing,\u201d he wrote in an accompanying editorial, \u201cbut until now never truly understood its underlying pathophysiology, clinical consequences, or treatment options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tWhy dementia treatment is often out of reach\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Despite the promising results, Kleiner says larger trials are needed.<\/p>\n

She has not yet been able to secure funding for wider studies, leaving the treatment out of reach for most Canadians. At roughly $12,000 a year, the injections are not covered by provincial health plans since botulinum toxin is not approved by Health Canada for paratonia.<\/p>\n

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Paniccia hopes that will eventually shift.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would go a long way toward keeping people out of hospitals and doctors\u2019 offices and living better lives, happier patients and happier caregivers.\u201d<\/p>\n

An estimated 772,000 people in Canada are living with dementia, a number projected to reach one million by 2030, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.<\/p>\n

As Canada\u2019s population ages, Kleiner says there is an urgent need to better understand, track and treat paratonia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the suffering my patients endure and the possibility of reducing that suffering and restoring dignity,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what motivates me to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toronto neurologist Dr. Galit Kleiner has spent nearly two decades studying a movement disorder that causes uncontrollable muscle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[245,5303,163,521,85,46,223627,840],"class_list":["post-482992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-canada","tag-dementia","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-paratonia","tag-seniors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}