"Where Life Meets Parkinson's." A blog for Parkinson's education, research advances, treatment strategies, and personal reflection. The goal is to provide support and resources to anyone either with Parkinson's disease or with any neurodegenerative disorder.
"I have a form of Parkinson's disease, which I don't like. My legs don't move when my brain tells them to. It's very frustrating." George H.W. Bush "I discovered that I was part of a Parkinson's community with similar experiences and similar questions that I'd been dealing with alone." Michael J. Fox Summary: Two hundred …
Continue reading "200 Years Ago James Parkinson published “An Essay On The Shaking Palsy”"
"A willing mind makes a hard journey easy." Philip Massinger "Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being." Plato Introduction: Much of my life has been spent exercising. Most of this exercise has been done with sheer delight. Since receiving my Parkinson's diagnosis, my opinion of exercise has changed. With Parkinson's, I'm now …
Continue reading "9 Things to Know About Exercise-induced Neuroplasticity in Human Parkinson’s"
"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." Abraham Lincoln "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Ralph Waldo Emerson Along the way to the diagnosis of Parkinson’s, you may have to undergo several different kinds …
Continue reading "Part 2: Journey to Parkinson’s and Magnetic Resonance Imaging"
“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” Homer, The Odyssey “Man is a genius when he is dreaming.” Akira Kurosawa Précis: There are many manifestations associated with Parkinson's; one of the more frustrating aspects is the alteration of sleep patterns. Herein is a brief overview of sleep …
Continue reading "Sleep Disturbances in Parkinson’s and the Eagles Best Song Lyrics"
“At what point do you give up - decide enough is enough? There is only one answer really. Never.” Tabitha Suzuma "Be proud of your scars. They remind you that you have the will to live." Paulo Coelho Précis: ~50% of the people with Parkinson's develop psychotic tendencies. Treatment of their psychosis can be relatively …
Continue reading "Treatment of Parkinson’s Psychosis with Nuplazid"
“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” Don Williams “Hope is a renewable option: If you run out of it at the end of the day, you get to start over in the morning.” Barbara Kingsolver Several …
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone “May you live every day of your life.” Jonathan Swift Introduction: Along the way to the diagnosis of Parkinson’s, you may have to undergo several different kinds of examinations. These tests will help your physician(s) …
Continue reading "Part 1: Journey to Parkinson’s and Barium Swallow"
“Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” Will Duran “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'” Isaac Asimov Introduction: The goal of this post is to highlight several experimental model systems that have effectively been used in Parkinson's research. We have …
Continue reading "Importance of Model Systems in Parkinson’s Research"
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” Carl Sagan “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” R. Buckminster Fuller Précis: Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are using an innovative approach to treat Parkinson's in …
Continue reading "Neuroprotection by Modified-Macrophages in a Parkinson’s Model System"
“We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” Carlos Castenada “Don’t be ashamed of your story, it will inspire others.” Unknown Background story: Over the years, my research career has been supported by various non-Federal organizations, in particular the American Heart Association (AHA) and Susan G. …
Continue reading "Moving Day® was a Morning to Move for Parkinson’s and a Time to be Moved"
Journey with Parkinson's 