Exploring Vision Changes in Parkinson’s Disease Insights from Dr. Gilbert Hosts with Dr. Janet Rucker Vision changes are a common but often under-discussed non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease. These changes can include eye movement problems, dry eyes, visual hallucinations, and more. On a recent episode of APDA’s Dr. Gilbert Hosts, we spoke with Dr. Janet Rucker, […]
New treatments for Parkinson’s disease Did you know that many pharmaceutical companies are working on vaccinations and other potential new treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD)? Each clinical trial and study that is underway is teaching us something new and important that will hopefully get us closer to a successful outcome. Research into potential new medications […]
Read about research updates presented at MDS 2024 Every year, the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) holds its International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (also known as the MDS Congress), which is the preeminent gathering of medical professionals from around the world who are dedicated to researching and treating Parkinson’s disease […]
How carbidopa/levodopa is used to treat Parkinson’s disease symptoms Loss of neurons in the brain that use dopamine to 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 […]
The Parkinson’s Disease Medication Pipeline The pipeline for Parkinson’s disease (PD) medications is extremely crowded these days, with multiple 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 […]
How many people have Parkinson’s disease? You may have heard the statistic that there are approximately one million people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) living in the US. That means approximately 1 out of every 336 people are living with PD. That number has increased in past decades and will continue to increase. With a new […]
Exciting New Parkinson’s Disease Research is Underway On September 5, 2024, APDA announced 20 new Parkinson’s disease (PD) research grants, for a total of $ 2.6 million in funding for the year ahead. Our grant recipients are working tirelessly to understand the complexities of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and to develop new treatments and eventually, a […]
It has long been understood that Parkinson’s disease (PD) does not just cause movement, or motor, symptoms, but also causes a litany of non-motor symptoms with effects throughout the body. One of the organ systems that is affected is the cardiac system, encompassing the heart, as well as the major and minor blood vessels.
DaTscan: A test to help in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s What is a DaTscan and how is it performed? 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 […]
What is gene therapy and can it help people with Parkinson’s? You may have read about efforts to use 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 […]
