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, 2020December 9, 2020 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
Other causes of tremor besides Parkinson’s disease Posted on March 3, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert A tremor doesn’t always mean it’s Parkinson’s Many people think of Parkinson’s disease (PD) as the “tremor disease”, so much so, that when a tremor is noticed, the first diagnosis people typically think of is PD. Although about 25% of people with PD do not have tremor, 75% of them do, so tremor is certainly […] Read More
Planning for the What Ifs – Mental Health Concerns in Advanced Parkinson’s Disease Posted on January 14, 2020February 25, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Planning for the What Ifs, Part Two Mental Health Concerns in Advanced Parkinson’s Disease Today we continue Parkinson’s Disease: Planning for the What Ifs, a special series of posts to address both motor and non-motor issues of people with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). We are defining advanced PD as those who are no longer independent […] Read More
Oral dysfunction in Parkinson’s: swallowing problems and drooling Posted on October 22, 2019February 25, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Oral dysfunction in Parkinson’s: swallowing problems and drooling Two common and distressing problems that can develop in Parkinson’s disease (PD) are swallowing dysfunction and drooling. I want to help you better understand these issues and learn what you can do to improve them – so read on! Thank you to Christine Sapienza, PhD, CCC-SLP and […] Read More