"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 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"
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” Albert Einstein “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” Isaac Asimov Summary: (Part 1) …
"The starting point of all achievement is desire." Napoleon Hill "We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone." Ronald Reagan The Journey With Parkinson's returns: The past 2 months have just consumed every waking moment of my time/life, and then some. I have a back-log of >20 blog posts in some finished-form-or-another. Starting this …
"In giving advice I advise you, be short." Horace "The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination." Dan Millman Introduction: Last month, I presented the Whitehead Lecture to the UNC School of Medicine (SOM). Here is what that means: "The annual Whitehead Lecture serves as an unofficial convocation for the School of Medicine. …
Continue reading "2016 Whitehead Lecture: Advice, Life Stories and the Journey with Parkinson’s"
“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” Betty Friedane “If we own the story then we can write the ending.” Brené Brown Précis: To showcase the amazing art/photography/videography of Anders M. Leines who lives in Norway, which gives me the opportunity to voice an opinion about the emerging picture/image …
“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: Déjà 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 "Déjà 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 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"
“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"
"Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” Paulo Coelho Précis: To briefly describe the biochemistry of dopamine and dopamine receptors, dopamine physiology, and therapeutic strategies for replacing dopamine in Parkinson's. But first, some "Purple Haze" by the Jimi …
Continue reading "Purple Haze of Parkinson’s: How Dopamine Works"
Journey with Parkinson's 