September 7, 2022

For people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), physical activity is more than an important part of healthy living — it is a vital component to maintaining balance, mobility and activities of daily living. This program will discuss the importance of regular and daily movement and how extended breaks of physical activity may worsen PD symptoms.

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Presenters

Miriam Rafferty PT, DPT, PhD
Research Scientist II
Assistant Professor

Shirley Ryan
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Abilitylab

We know that research is an essential part of finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease (PD), but how can we speed up the process? In our latest Neuro Talk, Parkinson's Foundation Chief Scientific Officer James Beck, PhD, discusses the Venture Philanthropy Fund — our newest research-driven investment fund. Dr. Beck explains why Parkinson’s research is underfunded and shares how the Venture Philanthropy Fund is working to accelerate the breakthroughs in treatments that people with PD need today.

Este video es de la lista de reproducción de la conferencia, “Hacia adelante: Navegando el mar del Parkinson.”

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Presentadora

Dra. Clarissa Martinez-Rubio, Parkinson's Foundation

Este video es de la lista de reproducción de la conferencia, “Hacia adelante: Navegando el mar del Parkinson.”

Descarga Diapositivas

Presentadora

Dra. Claudia Martinez, Barrow Neurological Institute

Este video es de la lista de reproducción de la conferencia, “Hacia adelante: Navegando el mar del Parkinson.”

Presentadora

Dra. Irene Litvan, UCSD

People often view Parkinson’s disease (PD) in terms of its motor symptoms, including slow movements, tremors, and stiffness. Often, these symptoms can be controlled with levodopa or other dopaminergic drugs. But just as troubling or more so to the person with PD are the non-motor symptoms of nausea, constipation, low blood pressure, mood disturbances, sleep problems, and more. In this episode, we focus on feeling nausea with Parkinson’s disease in an interview with Andrew Feigin, MD, Professor of Neurology at New York University Langone Health and director of the Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders in New York City, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence. He discusses the causes of nausea, both from PD itself and from medication, and what people can do to help lessen or prevent it.

Released: August 23, 2022

People with Parkinson’s disease may experience sensory misperceptions (hallucinations or illusions) or false beliefs (delusions). These tend to occur more in the later stages of the disease, and they can be mild and non-threatening or severe. Dr. Martha Nance, director of the Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence at the Struthers Parkinson’s Center in Minneapolis, explains the causes of these symptoms, gives examples of how people with Parkinson’s might experience them and discusses coping mechanisms and considerations for medical management. The most important step in dealing with these phenomena? Talk about it.

Released: February 27, 2018

Hallucinations might not be something you associate with Parkinson’s disease (PD), but they are a possibility in PD and can be a big problem, especially as the disease progresses. Visual hallucinations are the most common, but auditory and other sensory hallucinations also may occur. At first, it may be easy to distinguish the hallucinations from reality, but over time they can become more distressing for the person with Parkinson’s and their family, as well as a challenge for medication management. Some hallucinations are caused by medications to treat PD, so management becomes a balancing act between motor symptom control and hallucinations. Dr. Joseph Quinn, professor of neurology at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, discusses the problem and how people with PD can deal with it.

Released: February 13, 2018

Since swallowing involves a complex and coordinated sequence of muscular movements, it is not surprising that difficulties swallowing food or liquids are common in a movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). They can cause problems from the inconvenient to troubling, dangerous, or life threatening. Drooling is uncomfortable and can result in social isolation. Not taking in enough food to get adequate calories and nutrients may cause hunger, malnutrition, weight loss, and frailty. Obstruction of the trachea (windpipe) or having food or liquid reach the lungs can be life threatening.

The medical term for impaired swallowing is dysphagia. Fortunately, much can be done to help people with dysphagia, starting with an evaluation by a speech-language pathologist (SLP). This medical professional will take a history, asking about the problem, when it occurs, and how severe it is. The SLP will do a physical examination related to swallowing and a video x-ray or will use an endoscopic camera to visualize the swallowing process while the person with PD consumes foods or liquids with different consistencies, following them from the mouth to the stomach.

Once the form and extent of the problem is determined, the SLP can recommend various techniques for the person to do, as well as recommend ways of preparing foods and liquids that may help alleviate problems. SLP Yael Manor, PhD of the Tel Aviv Medical Center in Israel, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, describes the extent of the problem of dysphagia among people with PD, how she evaluates problems, and ways to alleviate them.

Released: July 14, 2020

The Parkinson’s Outcomes Project (POP) is the largest-ever clinical study of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Since the beginning of this groundbreaking initiative in 2009, Parkinson’s Foundation Centers of Excellence have been tracking and monitoring the care of more than 13,000 people in five countries with all stages of PD. The goal is to find the most effective therapies, study their benefits, and determine the best candidates for each treatment.

One of the findings of POP is that anxiety is a major factor affecting the overall health of people with PD. Worry about a health condition is normal, but when it becomes constant feelings of worry or nervousness beyond what is understandable, it may be anxiety, a mental health condition. Anxiety is not just a reaction to a diagnosis of PD or the daily stresses that accompany it but is also an integral part of the disease caused by changes in brain chemistry. It may even predate the diagnosis.

As many as 40 percent of people with PD will experience some form of anxiety, such as generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety attacks, social avoidance, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Fortunately, mental health professionals can help by providing effective talk and, when appropriate, drug therapies. In this episode, clinical psychologist Roseanne Dobkin, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at Rutgers University in New Jersey, discusses the difference between reasonable worry and problematic anxiety and elucidates some of the ways mental health professionals can help when feelings become distressing or all consuming, interfering with day to day life and activities.

Released: June 30, 2020

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