Unique Influences on Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms Posted on January 11, 2022 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert How Geography, high altitude and cold weather can play a role Through APDA’s Ask the Doctor portal, we receive many questions on a vast array of topics. (Feel free to submit your own question at any time.) Many readers have noted that geographic or seasonal factors seem to impact their Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms and […] Read More
Wearable devices that suppress Parkinson’s disease tremor Posted on December 28, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Non-Invasive Devices to Suppress Tremors For some people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), medication doses treat their tremor very well. However, for others, medication doses are clearly effective for symptoms of slowness and stiffness, but they are ineffective for their tremor. In these cases, deep brain stimulation (DBS) or focused ultrasound may be suggested to help […] Read More
New laboratory tests for Parkinson’s Disease Posted on December 14, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Currently, Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis is based on a visual clinical exam, done by a doctor (ideally a neurologist or movement disorder specialist) in their office. This means that motor symptoms such as tremor, stiffness and slowness must be apparent before a diagnosis is made by the neurologist – yet those visible symptoms don’t often […] Read More
Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease: Bryan’s Story Posted on November 30, 2021December 2, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Bryan Hill: Living with Young Onset Parkinson’s Parkinson’s disease (PD) is often thought of as an older person’s disease. But did you know that people in their 30s and 40s can also be diagnosed? It’s called Young or Early Onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD or EOPD) and to raise awareness and shed light on the perspective […] Read More
APDA Salutes Parkinson’s Disease Care Partners Posted on November 16, 2021November 19, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Care Partner Tributes and Stories for Family Caregivers Month November is National Family Caregivers Month — a time to recognize and honor family care partners across the country. We all know how integral care partners are to each Parkinson’s disease (PD) journey and while they should be celebrated year-round, now is a great time to […] Read More
Levodopa dosing and food intake for people with Parkinson’s disease Posted on November 2, 2021November 3, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert The challenges of levodopa dosing and food intake I receive many Ask the Doctor questions about food intake and levodopa ingestion, and I know it’s a tough balance for many. Instructions on how best to take levodopa can seem contradictory. On one hand, people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are told to separate levodopa from food […] Read More
New Treatments for Parkinson’s Disease Posted on October 19, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Exploring seven recently approved Parkinson’s treatments Remarkably, in the last five years, seven new medications have been approved for the treatment of the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), with two approved in 2020. That’s exciting progress! And while it is great to have so many choices, the various options can be confusing — so […] Read More
Highlights from the Movement Disorder Society Virtual Congress 2021 Posted on October 5, 2021November 24, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Every year the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) holds a conference and every year APDA is there, learning about the newest research and sharing our resources with the wider Parkinson’s disease (PD) community. The MDS Congress is the preeminent gathering of medical professionals from around the world who are dedicated to PD […] Read More
The Future of Parkinson’s Disease Treatments – UPDATE Posted on September 21, 2021September 21, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert The Parkinson’s disease (PD) research community is extremely eager to find a medication that is disease modifying or neuroprotective (meaning it protects the nerve cells from damage or degeneration). There have been many attempts over the past number of years to demonstrate through clinical trials that particular compounds have neuroprotective effects but to date, these attempts have […] Read More
New and innovative Parkinson’s disease research being funded by APDA Posted on September 7, 2021September 21, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert NEW, INNOVATIVE PARKINSON’S DISEASE RESEARCH BEING FUNDED BY APDA On September 1, 2021, APDA announced our research grantees for the year ahead. Our grant recipients are working tirelessly to understand the complexities of Parkinson’s disease in an effort to develop new treatments and eventually, a cure, and we are honored to support their work. This […] Read More
