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
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
Nia Technique, Alexander Technique, and Feldenkrais Method: Mindful movement-based practices for Parkinson’s disease Posted on August 10, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert Mindful movement-based practices are popular complementary therapies in Parkinson’s disease (PD), defined as healing practices involving movement of the body while focusing on the mind. They are performed in addition to standard therapies with the goal of improving quality of life. Many of you probably have heard of yoga and tai chi, but there are […] Read More
What types of exercise are best for people with Parkinson’s disease? Posted on July 27, 2021October 26, 2021 by Dr. Rebecca Gilbert In last week’s blog, we addressed the reasons why it is vital for people with Parkinson’s disease to exercise, including (but not limited to) improving particular motor and non-motor symptoms such as impaired balance, gait disorders, depression, and cognition. Today, we will tackle another important question – what types of exercise are most beneficial to […] Read More
