Stanford PD Community Blog

Parkinson Society British Columbia hosted a webinar on Dementia in Parkinson's.  The speaker was geriatrician Naaz Parmar. Sadly, just because you have Parkinson’s doesn’t mean you can’t also have other disorders, like dementia.  In this talk Dr. Parmar covered the usual, a definition of dementia, when should you have an assessment and what does that look like, the different types of dementia and finally, treatments.  But, her argument about getting an early and accurate diagnosis​ for cognitive or memory changes was compelling.

On October 19, the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) hosted a webinar on "Being a PD Caregiver." The guest speaker was Lianna Marie, RN, whose mother had Parkinson's Disease. Lianna evolved from being a motivator and cheerleader to a caregiver. Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach listened to the webinar and are sharing our notes.

Dizziness is a commonly reported symptom by people with Parkinson's disease (PD). It is important to determine the source in order to treat the dizziness. In this October webinar hosted by Parkinson’s Wellness Recovery (PWR!), Shelley Hockensmith, a physical therapist and neurologic specialist, provides information about different types and sources of dizziness, the inner ear’s role in balance, and physical therapy’s role using vestibular rehabilitation. 

In a webinar hosted last month by the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA), three experts gathered to discuss various aspects of Lewy body dementia (LBD) and frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).  LBD is also called Parkinson’s disease dementia.  And frontotemporal degeneration includes two atypical parkinsonism disorders -- progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration. 

In early October, the Davis Phinney Foundation hosted a virtual conference.  Greg Pontone, MD, MHS, with Johns Hopkins Parkinson's Disease Neuropsychiatry Clinic, spoke about cognition, mood, and the management of cognitive and mood changes in PD.  We at Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach listened to the talk, and are sharing our notes. 

“Dr. Gilbert Hosts” is a webinar series sponsored by the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA), featuring Dr. Rebecca Gilbert, a movement disorder specialist. In September, the webinar speaker, Dr. Tim Greenamyre, gave a thorough overview of gene therapy and Parkinson’s disease (PD), and then answered questions.  We at Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach listened to the webinar and are sharing our notes. 

The Parkinson Society of British Columbia (PSBC) offered a webinar in mid-September on freezing and how to prevent the condition from occurring in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Shelly Yu, a neuro physiotherapist with PSBC, provided PD patients and caregivers on strategies to minimize freezing and maintain activity. Specifically, the webinar covered the what, when, where, and why of freezing. 

In early September, the Journal of Parkinson's Disease (based in Amsterdam), The Cure Parkinson's Trust (based in the UK), and Parkinson's Movement co-hosted one of their quarterly webinars on Parkinson's Disease (PD).  The topic was prodromal PD, which refers to the stage at which people do not meet the diagnostic criteria for PD but they do exhibit many of the symptoms.  Those with "prodromal PD" are obviously at a higher than average risk of meeting the diagnostic criteria for PD in the future. We at Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach attended the webinar and are sharing our notes. 

The Parkinson Society of British Columbia hosted a webinar in mid-September on brain fog in PD. Brain fog has been described as “fuzzy thinking” and “being unable to feel sharp in one’s thoughts.”  The speaker addressed the symptoms behind brain fog and how to promote brain health and wellness.