Samantha Elandary has been dreaming for years of making the Parkinson’s speech and swallowing therapy program she developed in her Dallas, Texas, living room available worldwide. If she sounds excited these days, it’s because the pace of progress at her nonprofit group, Parkinson Voice Project (PVP), has shifted from a trot to a gallop over the past […]
“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.” –Martin Luther King Jr. Fallen, again Not even two weeks after I put the finishing touches on my walking with mindfulness column, I had a very nasty fall. My first fall occurred in July 2017. Since my left foot tends to drag, I find I must […]
For years, Israeli neurologist Tamar Flash has had a fascination with the octopus, and the way the invertebrate’s eight arms propel it effortlessly through the water. She’s convinced this has major implications for diagnosing and treating Parkinson’s disease — and possible other disorders as well. “My major interest is the brain’s representation of movement, or […]
Wearable motion sensors can allow doctors to objectively assess medication states in Parkinson’s disease patients being treated with levodopa, a new study shows. The study, “Assessment of response to medication in individuals with Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal Medical Engineering & Physics. Levodopa is the most common medication used to treat motor impairment […]
I lie in bed at night, my left hand under my head. In this position, I can hear the ticking of my watch. Each beat reminds me that another moment no longer exists. I am one second farther from yesterday and one second closer to tomorrow. About two years ago, a good friend of mine […]
Genetic mutations and consequent impaired activity of mitochondria — known as the powerhouses of the cell — may be a first step contributing to the development of Parkinson’s disease later in life, a new study suggests. The study, “Neural Stem Cells of Parkinson’s Disease Patients Exhibit Aberrant Mitochondrial Morphology and Functionality,” was published in Stem Cell […]
A pilot project in the United Kingdom is testing a wrist device that is worn like a watch, called Personal Kinetigraph (PKG), to help Parkinson’s patients and their specialist healthcare providers to monitor their condition at home. The PKG, developed by Global Kinetics, will be tested in the “Developing Home-based Parkinson’s Care” project, led by researchers at […]
Antioxidants like vitamin C may protect against the toxic effects of levodopa, researchers report. Their study, “Reducing oxidative toxicity of L-dopa in combination with two different antioxidants: an essential oil isolated from Rosa Damascena Mill., and vitamin C”, was published in Toxicology Reports. Levodopa (L-DOPA) treatment effectively reduces early motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease, but conflicting […]
A project to identify new genes involved in the development of Parkinson’s disease has received $1 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant will be shared between researchers at Penn State University and the University of California, San Francisco. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have had some success in identifying genes that play […]
The non-profit Parkinson’s Foundation will host its annual fundraiser, the New York Gala, on May 7, with a goal of surpassing the $750,000 raised last year. The event’s master of ceremonies will be Willie Geist, host of NBC News’ “Sunday Today with Willie Geist,” and co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” who also hosted last year. Geist’s […]
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