Episode 160: Atypical Parkinsonism Series: Treatment and Interdisciplinary Approach to Care

Considered “atypical Parkinsonian syndromes,” over half of people with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) are initially misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) due to similarities in early symptoms as well as lack of awareness of these rare, neurodegenerative diseases among many healthcare professionals and the general public.
This is the second of three podcast episodes within our atypical parkinsonism podcast series, organized in partnership with CurePSP and designed to address the treatment interdisciplinary approach of PSP, CBD and MSA.
In this second episode of the series, Heather Cianci, Outpatient Neurological Team Leader and founding therapist of the Dan Aaron Parkinson’s Rehabilitation Center, Penn Therapy & Fitness at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Julia Wood, Director of Professional and Community Education at the Lewy Body Dementia Association, cover the treatment and interdisciplinary approach to care for atypical parkinsonism.
Julia Wood, Heather Cianci, and podcast host, Dan Keller, have disclosed that they have no relevant financial disclosures.

Released: October 3, 2023

Heather is the founding therapist of the Dan Aaron Parkinson’s Rehabilitation Center (Penn Therapy & Fitness) at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, PA – a partner with the University of Pennsylvania’s Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center (PDMDC). Heather received her Bachelor’s in Physical Therapy from the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA and her Master’s in Gerontology from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She has been a physical therapist since 1994 and received her board certification in geriatrics in 1999 from the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. She is a LSVT® BIG certified clinician, PWR! certified clinician, graduate of the Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson’s, certified in Music and Memory®, and is an ACTIVATOR® Trainer. She serves as an LSVT® BIG Faculty Instructor for LSVT Global, Inc., and Co-coordinator and PT Faculty for the Parkinson’s Foundation’s (PF) Team Training Program. Heather has authored book chapters on rehabilitative strategies for PD and Frontotemporal Degeneration. She also is the author of the PF educational manual “Fitness Counts.”

Heather has taught for several CEU organizations including Medbridge and Elite Learning. Her research includes movement strategies for bed mobility, falls, freezing of gait, and functional movement disorders. She teaches about rehabilitation and PD at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA) and Neumann University (Aston, PA). Heather is a former board member of CurePSP and team member of both the COPE Clinic (Comprehensive Outpatient Atypical Parkinsonism Evaluation) and Huntington’s Disease Clinic at the PDMDC.
Julia Wood, MOT, OTR/L graduated with her master’s degree in occupational therapy (OT) from the University of Minnesota after completion of her clinical fieldwork in neurological rehabilitation from the Mayo Clinic, St. Mary’s Hospital campus in Rochester, Minnesota. Julia has an extensive clinical background in rehabilitation, interdisciplinary and palliative care in Parkinson’s disease and related dementias. She served as the lead OT at the University of Pennsylvania’s Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders Center of Excellence for ten years where she continues to develop and facilitate community engagement programs for people with PD and related dementias and care partners. Julia is currently the Director of Professional and Community Education for the Lewy Body Dementia Association and serves as certification and training faculty for the LSVT BIG® program. Julia has served as faculty for the Parkinson’s Foundation’s Team Training for Parkinson program since 2016 and served on the Parkinson’s Foundation Rehabilitation Task Force in 2021. She co-authored the first American Occupational Therapy Association Practice Guideline for Adults with Parkinson’s Disease in 2022. Julia served on the steering committee for the 2022 International Lewy Body Dementia Conference and on the Comprehensive Care Subcommittee for the 2023 World Parkinson’s Congress (WPC).