"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.
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." Marcel Proust "The process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a continual flight from wonder." Albert Einstein Preface: Happy birthday to James Parkinson (neurologist, geologist, scientist, activist), born April 11, 1755 and died December 21, 1824. World Parkinson's Day …
Continue reading "Milestones in Parkinson’s Disease Research and Discovery"
"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"
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." Colin Powell Introduction/Background: Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement. It evolves slowly, usually starting as either stiffness in a hand or a small tremor. Over time, Parkinson’s progresses; …
“Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.” Winston S. Churchill “...remember that what has once been done may be done again.” Alexandre Dumas Introducing the terms: DĂ©jĂ vu: "A feeling of having already experienced the present situation." (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/) Neuroplasticity: "The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming …
Continue reading "DĂ©jĂ Vu and Neuroplasticity in Parkinson’s"
“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 PrĂ©cis: 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"
“With Parkinson’s you have two choices: You can let it control you, or you can control it. And I’ve chosen to control it.” US Senator Isakson “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.” Albert Einstein Introduction: In my academic career to-date, my research group and I …
Continue reading "Potential New Parkinson’s Drug Highlight: the Leukemia Drug Nilotinib"
“Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.” Yoko Ono “Embrace aging.” Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie PrĂ©cis: The great majority of individuals with Parkinson's reveal no genetic mutations, no past history of head injury, …
Continue reading "Science of Advanced Age as a Risk Factor for Parkinson’s"
"Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it.” George Carlin “You can either be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It all depends on how you view your life.” Paulo Coelho PrĂ©cis: ~10% of Parkinson's cases are linked to familial genetic mutations; whereas the vast majority …
Continue reading "Gender Differences as a Factor in Parkinson’s"
Journey with Parkinson's 