Lower back pain and Parkinson’s disease Posted on August 24, 2021August 23, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Lower back pain and Parkinson’s disease Lower back pain is an extremely common problem in the general population, as well as for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). It tends to make moving more difficult, adding to the challenges of PD. Tim Nordahl, PT, DPT, a physical therapist at Boston University gave an excellent presentation as […] Read More
Impaired Balance and Falls in People with Parkinson’s Disease Posted on June 8, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Balance Impairment and Falls in Parkinson’s Disease One of the most challenging symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that fundamentally affects quality of life is balance impairment that can lead to falls. Falls are one of the major causes of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for people with PD, so finding ways to prevent as many […] Read More
Posture problems in Parkinson’s Disease Posted on April 6, 2021April 6, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Dr. Gilbert discusses the various abnormal postures associated with Parkinson’s disease. Posture and PD A well-established but poorly understood clinical feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is difficulty with posture. Most people with PD exhibit some degree of stooped posture. A smaller group of people with PD have more pronounced problems with posture. They might walk […] Read More
Planning for the What Ifs – Multiple System Atrophy Posted on January 5, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Advanced Parkinson’s and Multiple System Atrophy As part of our Planning for the What Ifs series, today we continue to expand the definition of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) by discussing one of the atypical parkinsonian syndromes. In a past blog we explored two other atypical parkinsonian syndromes – Progressive supranuclear palsy and Corticobasal degeneration. Today we will […] Read More
Therapies for non-motor symptoms of PD in clinical trials Posted on December 9, 2020May 27, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert The pipeline for Parkinson’s disease (PD) medications is extremely crowded these days, with multiple medications at various stages of research and development. Currently most of the approved medications for PD address the motor symptoms of PD – tremor, slowness, stiffness, and walking difficulties. Medications are also available to help people overcome OFF time or improve […] Read More
Peripheral neuropathy and Parkinson’s disease Posted on October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Today I will address the potential link between Parkinson’s disease and a common neurologic condition called peripheral neuropathy. This topic was submitted via the Suggest a Topic portal. I am grateful for your suggestions so please continue to let us know what you’d like to learn more about! In order to understand what peripheral neuropathy […] Read More
Drug-induced parkinsonism Posted on September 29, 2020September 29, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert I’m so thankful to those of you who submit potential topics for my blog as it helps me understand what you would like to know more about. A frequent topic that I am asked about is symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that are caused by medications. So today, I will address drug-induced parkinsonism. Common symptoms […] Read More
Planning for the What Ifs – Progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration Posted on September 15, 2020September 18, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Atypical parkinsonian syndromes Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Degeneration As part of our Planning for the What Ifs series, today we expand the definition of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) by discussing atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS), neurodegenerative disorders that are related to PD. Our guest author, Dr. Pravin Khemani, a Movement disorders neurologist at Swedish Medical […] Read More
Could this be due to Parkinson’s Disease? Uncommon non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease Posted on July 28, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert It is common for a person with Parkinson’s disease (PD) to attribute every new symptom that develops to PD. That is largely because the list of non-motor symptoms (symptoms that you can’t see) commonly associated with PD is so varied, it can seem that almost anything is a symptom of PD! But if you take […] Read More
Restless Leg Syndrome and Parkinson’s Disease Posted on June 17, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a neurologic and sleep-related condition characterized by an irresistible urge to move the legs. The symptoms respond to dopaminergic medications such as dopamine agonists or levodopa, which are also used to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD), making an association between RLS and PD likely. Here we explore RLS and its potential […] Read More
