Parkinson’s can be unpredictable – symptoms can come and go or get better and worse throughout the day. These so-called “on-off” fluctuations (also called motor fluctuations) and dyskinesias can be troubling, but movement disorder specialists can help with the choice of medication, dosages, and timing. Dr. Irene Malaty explains more about what causes these changes and how you can work with your doctor to manage them.
Dr. Malaty is a fellowship-trained movement disorder specialist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. She is the director of the Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence at UF and is site primary investigator of the Parkinson’s Outcomes Project. Additionally, Dr. Malaty is co-director of the Tourette Association of America Southeast Regional Center of Excellence and runs the interdisciplinary Tourette and tic disorders clinic for children and adults. In all these initiatives, Dr. Malaty cares for patients, coordinates team-based care, and promotes clinical research. Dr. Malaty is the director of industry-sponsored trials at UF movement disorders.
Dr. Malaty serves on the executive board of the Florida Society of Neurology, on the executive committee of the American Academy of Neurology Neuroendocrinology Section, as the Movement Disorder Subsection Chair, and on the Tourette Association of America Medical Advisory Board. She has specific interests in the non-motor aspects of Parkinson’s disease and Tourette’s syndrome and in using botulinum toxin to treat neurological conditions. She has written many peer-reviewed articles, is involved in numerous clinical trials in movement disorders, and enjoys lecturing on Parkinson’s disease, Tourette, botulinum toxin administration, dystonia, and other movement disorders.
She studied microbiology and psychology at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, and attended Indiana University School of Medicine. After completing a transitional year of medicine at St. Vincent’s hospital in Indianapolis, she moved to Gainesville for neurology residency and served as chief resident. She completed a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Florida and joined the faculty thereafter.
