From May 4 through May 6, the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) is hosting a three-day Ask the Expert session on Smart Patients, its online Parkinson’s disease (PD) community. Dr. Rebecca Gilbert, APDA’s Chief Mission Officer, will answer questions from community members about all aspects of PD, including testing, diagnosis, symptom management, surgical treatments, and working with your healthcare team.
… Full Story>
Canadian artist with Parkinson’s Barbara Salsberg Mathews has created a set of illustrations to place Parkinson’s caregivers under the spotlight. One of her illustrations is a local Morgan Hill couple, the Coleys. The artist says, “Denise Coley (diagnosed 2018), lives with Parkinson’s…and often struggles with appetite. Her husband, Bernard Coley, creatively prepares ‘showcase plates’ to entice her to eat, proving that sometimes, you taste with your eyes first.” See the illustration of the Coleys and others.
… Full Story>
Two neurologists say environmental risks are a major culprit. Take action to help protect your brain today
Parkinson’s disease can affect anyone, it’s true. Your personal risk is based on a combination of your genes and environmental factors. But having certain genes that raise risk doesn’t guarantee you’ll one day have the disease. More than just a disease that simply “happens” to you, mounting evidence suggests that the progressive neurodegenerative condition is largely driven by risk factors that — with a little knowledge and planning — can be minimized.
… Full Story>On April 29, the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) will host a live Q&A event with Dr. Rebecca Gilbert dedicated entirely to answering audience questions about Parkinson’s disease.
The session will cover testing, diagnosis, symptom management, medications, surgical treatments, and navigating your health care team. Attendees can submit their own questions, making the broadcast a direct conversation between patients, caregivers, and one of the leading voices in Parkinson’s care and research.
Dr. Gilbert joined APDA in 2018 after serving as Associate Professor of Neurology at the Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders at NYU Langone Medical Center, where she directed the NYU Movement Disorders Fellowship and participated in clinical trials. She holds an MD from Weill Medical College of Cornell University and a PhD in Cell Biology and Genetics from the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and completed her neurology residency and movement disorders fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.
Register today and get your questions ready. Join the broadcast here.
This recent “Washington Post” article is about the “gut-first” hypothesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) — the idea that a high percentage of PD cases start in the gut and that abnormal protein spreads from the gut to the brain. Evidence is that constipation can begin more than a decade before motor symptoms of PD. And abnormal proteins can be found almost the whole length of the digestive tract.
… Full Story>