On April 15th, Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s presented a webinar entitled, “Social Connection and Parkinson’s.”
We are currently living in a time of enforced social isolation because of COVID-19. For a variety of reasons, many people living with Parkinson’s may have chosen to isolate themselves before this time. This webinar explores the difference between social isolation and loneliness, the biology of loneliness, and the value and health benefits relationships bring.
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In late July, PMD Alliance (pmdalliance.org) hosted a one-hour webinar with Irene Litvan, MD, movement disorder specialist at UCSD. The title of the webinar was “Doc, why don’t I have PD?” Dr. Litvan says that some of her patients ask her this, pointing out that they have slowness, stiffness, and tremor. Her presentation focused on atypical parkinsonism disorders as a whole and the differences between Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and these atypicals. Of all the atypical parkinsonism disorders, she spent the most time on progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy, just a bit of time on Lewy body dementia, and almost no time on corticobasal degeneration. The question-and-answer session included a lot of comments on PD. We at Stanford Parkinson’s Community Outreach listened to the webinar and are sharing our notes.
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This spring, over 5400 Parkinson’s patients, including 51 who had COVID-19, took an online Fox Insight survey, organized by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. According to Caroline Tanner, MD, PhD, of the University of California San Francisco, “What was really remarkable was the number of people who didn’t have COVID, but who did suffer from the experience of the pandemic.” MedPageToday noted that “Medical care (64%), exercise (21%), and social activities (57%) were disrupted for these patients, and many reported worse Parkinson’s motor (43%) and non-motor (52%) symptoms.” While the survey showed the resilience of the Parkinson’s community, it also highlighted disparities, Tanner pointed out. “People with lower incomes or people who are nonwhite have less opportunity to use alternative means of health care and connection,” she said. “That’s something we continue to need to work on.”
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Stanford’s Parkinson’s Community Outreach Program hosts a quarterly deep brain stimulation (DBS) support group meeting for those wanting to learn more about this surgical treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The June 2020 meeting featured Dr. Daniel Kramer, a neurosurgeon and clinical instructor at Stanford, who answered audience questions pertaining to DBS. We at Stanford Parkinson’s Community Outreach viewed the discussion and are sharing our notes.
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In early June, the Parkinson’s Foundation hosted a webinar on wellness and remote care for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) during the coronavirus pandemic, featuring a panel of movement disorders specialists. They discussed how to maintain wellness in the face of the challenges presented by Covid-19, and how to access care going forward. We at Stanford Parkinson’s Community Outreach viewed the webinar and are sharing our notes.
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