Creativity in People with Parkinson’s Disease

Posted on by Rebecca Gilbert, MD, Ph.D.

The benefits of artistic activities for people with Parkinson’s Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complicated and long-term condition that...see more often impacts both physical and mental health. Traditional medical and surgical treatments are not always enough to help people with PD live life to the fullest, and creative activities – from visual arts and music to […]

Read More

Exploring the Variations of Carbidopa/Levodopa: The Mainstay of Parkinson’s Disease Treatment

Posted on by Rebecca Gilbert, MD, Ph.D.

How carbidopa/levodopa is used to treat Parkinson’s disease symptoms Loss of neurons in the brain that use dopamine to...see more communicate is one of the hallmark features of Parkinson’s disease (PD), causing slowness, stiffness, tremor, and balance problems. Replacing the brain’s dopamine is therefore one of the key treatment strategies to help improve the motor symptoms […]

Read More

The Future of Parkinson’s Disease Treatments

Posted on by Rebecca Gilbert, MD, Ph.D.

The Parkinson’s Disease Medication Pipeline The pipeline for Parkinson’s disease (PD) medications is extremely crowded these days, with multiple...see more medications at various stages of research development. This is very exciting news for the PD community and is a perfect example of the “hope in progress” part of our organization’s motto. It is thrilling to see […]

Read More

What is a DaTscan and should I get one?

Posted on by Rebecca Gilbert, MD, Ph.D.

DaTscan: A test to help in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s What is a DaTscan and how is it performed?...see more In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an imaging test to help diagnose Parkinson’s disease (PD) called DaTscan (dopamine transporter scan). In this test, a radioactive tracer, Ioflupane (123I), also known as DaTscan, is injected […]

Read More

Gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease

Posted on by Rebecca Gilbert, MD, Ph.D.

What is gene therapy and can it help people with Parkinson’s? You may have read about efforts to use...see more gene therapy as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD). It’s an exciting prospect and studies are underway, with some positive results so far. Understanding these studies and therapies requires some background information about what genes are […]

Read More

Exploring Deep Brain Stimulation & Focused Ultrasound for Parkinson’s Disease

Posted on by Rebecca Gilbert, MD, Ph.D.

Insights from Dr. Ihtsham Ul Haq and Tom Liodice on APDA’s Dr. Gilbert Hosts Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and...see more focused ultrasound (FUS) are two medical procedures that may be considered for certain people with PD to help alleviate symptoms. On a recent episode of APDA’s Dr. Gilbert Hosts, I spoke with Dr. Ihtsham Ul Haq, a movement […]

Read More

Use of Cannabidiol (CBD) for PD symptoms

Posted on by Rebecca Gilbert, MD, Ph.D.

Understanding CBD People with PD are eager to find alternative methods to help their symptoms, leading many of these patients...see more to look into whether other therapies, such as medical marijuana, also known as medical cannabis, can be useful. Previously, I wrote a blog on medical marijuana and PD which you may find interesting. More recently, I […]

Read More

2023 Update: New Parkinson’s Disease Treatments in the Clinical Trial Pipeline

Posted on by Rebecca Gilbert, MD, Ph.D.

New Parkinson’s Medication on the Horizon The development of potential new medications for Parkinson’s disease (PD) medications remains very...see more active, with multiple new medications in various stages of research development that are aiming to treat and slow down PD. In past blogs, we have reviewed the various mechanisms of action that are being studied to […]

Read More