Derbyshire man one of first to access new 'life-changing' Parkinson's drug

• Damian Gath was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2014. He says treatment with the new intravenous drug has been 'life changing'.

A man from Derbyshire living with Parkinson's disease has said that the effects of a new drug have changed his life.

Damian Gath, who is 52, was offered the treatment at Kings Mill Hospital in Nottinghamshire and he is one of only six people in the UK to be treated with the drug.

He was first diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2014 and originally thought what he felt was a sports injury. He said he could barely comprehend what he was being told when doctors first diagnosed him with Parkinson's disease.

Until very recently when he first started having treatment, Damian's symptoms were so severe that he was taking fourteen tablets a day to try and suppress them. He described the pain he was in as "excruciating".

Speaking to ITV News Central, Damian said the effects of his new medication have been "life-changing".

"I've gone from not being able to do simple day-to-day tasks to performing day-to-day tasks", he said.

"I mean there were times before where I could do those tasks but I had to wait for the precise point in the day where I knew I was capable of doing it."

Damian is the first person in the East Midlands to receive the new drug, which is called produodopa.

It drug helps manage the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and is an infusion that enters the bloodstream of the patient under the skin, controlled by a pump that releases the drug 24 hours a day. Damian says he felt the drug gave him near "instant results".

Speaking on how he felt after his new treatment, Damian said: "I haven't stopped crying for three weeks, Its been so emotional. My family and friends have been so supportive they're so happy for me. My children are just blown away from it".

"I've gone from 10% to 90% in the last three weeks", he explained. "I could even consider getting back to work that's the big thing. And cooking a meal for family and friends, a good meal not beans on toast or a microwave meal, a proper meal".

Damian said that being one of the first to try the drug was an honour.

Rowan Wathes, the Director of Policy and Health Strategy at Parkinson's UK, said she expects nearly 900 people to benefit and for those people they should, looking at Damian, "be optimistic".

Although Damian is currently only one of a handful in the country with access to the new drug, it's hoped it will be rolled out across the country so more people can benefit.

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