Stanford PD Community Blog

In early April, the Parkinson’s Foundation offered a Facebook Live presentation on hospitalization and Parkinson’s disease (PD), featuring Dr. Michael Okun, a movement disorders specialist at the University of. He answered questions about PD and hospitalization, provided tips about what to do if you or your loved one with PD is hospitalized, and discussed how to get the best care possible during an anticipated or emergency hospital stay. We at Stanford Parkinson’s Community Outreach viewed the webinar and are sharing our notes.  

Brent Bluett, DO, Stanford Movement Disorder Specialist, will discuss “The Status of Research in PD: Is There Hope?” online on Tuesday, June 2, beginning at 3:00pm Pacific Time. The event is free, but pre-registration is required.

In late April, the UCSF Memory and Aging Center (MAC) presented the fourth webinar in its series on caregiving for those with Lewy body dementia (LBD). The topic was how to be an advocate for your loved one with LBD in both a healthcare setting and a community setting. While the webinar was geared towards those with LBD, we felt the content would also be helpful for others with cognitive impairment or Parkinson’s disease dementia. The speakers were Sarah Dulaney, Clinical Nurse Specialist with the MAC, and Helen Medsger, an LBD family caregiver, advocate, and support group leader. We at Stanford Parkinson’s Community Outreach viewed the webinar and are sharing our notes. 

In mid-March, the Davis Phinney Foundation offered a webinar on the rise of Parkinson’s disease (PD) worldwide, featuring Michael Okun, MD, a movement disorders specialist at the University of Florida who is a co-author of the new book, Ending Parkinson’s Disease. Dr. Okun discussed the current knowledge about how to prevent PD and what actions individuals can take to try to impact the increase of PD long-term. There was a Question and Answer session as well. We at Stanford Parkinson’s Community Outreach listened to the webinar and are sharing our notes.  

In April 2020, the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s presented an online Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Forum. The webinar featured two movement disorder specialists, including Helen Bronte-Stewart, MD, MSE with Stanford, a couple of neurosurgeons, two people with Parkinson’s, and two scientists from device manufacturers.  The speakers described DBS surgery, the best candidate, some limiting factors for qualifying as a candidate, current best practices, future improvements, programming considerations, the reduction of medications, and the efficacy of DBS as Parkinson’s progresses.  We at the Stanford Parkinson’s Community Outreach listened to the webinar, and are sharing our notes.