Dystonia & Parkinson Patient Symposium for Patients and Caregivers
The Dystonia and Parkinson's Patient Symposium will be offered free of charge on February, 28, 2012 in New York City. It is open to the general public and geared to patients living with dystonia and Parkinson's disease, their caregivers, medical students and medical professionals. It begins at 8:45 a.m. and concludes at 3 p.m.
One portion of the program includes a panel discussion with renowned doctors, specialists and scientists as well as a question and answer portion with the audience. The second portion offers interactive classes of Chair Yoga, Emotional Coping Strategies, Alexander Technique and Chair Dance Therapy. This combination of panel discussions and interactive classes offers participants an all encompassing experience to become better educated and empowered. Registration is required.
Details
Event: Educate & Empower: Learn the Latest Treatments, Therapies, Coping Techniques and Research
Date: February 28, 2012
Time: 8:45am - 3pm
Location: The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York City, NY USA
For more information and to register visit the website or call +1 212-682-9900.
Ipsen's Commitment to Improving Patient Care Helps MDS Disseminate Knowledge About Movement Disorders
MDS has a long tradition of providing the highest quality evidence-based medical education. That tradition would not be possible without the help of the Society’s many supporters, including Ipsen Pharma SAS. As a partner dedicated to improving patient care through education and research, Ipsen has made a multi-year commitment to MDS educational programming. This ongoing relationship helps MDS plan several years into the future and reach new geographic areas.
- Ipsen's support at the Platinum Plus level helped make the 2011 MDS International Congress a great success with 3,750 attendees from 74 countries. Eighty-five percent of the 213 learning objectives in 71 courses or workshops in the Congress scientific program met the established threshold of effective learning.
- Ipsen helped support the MDS-European Section 2011 Summer School in Naples, where 86% of attendees rated their ability in the topics as excellent or above average after the activity, compared to an average of 37% before the activity.
- Ipsen helped support the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dystonia Syndromes course in Milan (September, 2011), where 56% of attendees rated their ability in the topics as excellent or above average after the activity, compared to an average of 10% before the activity.
- Ipsen helped support the Botulinum Toxins in Neurological Practice Workshop in Liverpool (October, 2011), where 43.2% of attendees rated their ability in the topics as excellent or above average after the activity, compared to an average of 18.5% before the activity.
In addition, Ipsen has made multiple future support commitments which will help MDS plan future educational activities.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research Program Launch - Defining Cognitive Phenotypes of Parkinson's Disease
In the interest of increasing the understanding of the neuropathological and neurophysiological changes that are associated with cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease, MJFF is issuing this Request for Applications (RFA) for investigator-initiated studies that can address the following critical challenge: Understand the pathophysiology and biological correlates of cognitive changes in Parkinson’s disease. MJFF encourages relevant projects that include but are not limited to the analysis of post-mortem tissue, physiological data, and biologic specimens to determine correlations between biological, clinical and pathological characteristics of PD-associated cognitive decline.
**MJFF will hold a conference call on March 24, 2011 from 12:00 to 12:45pm U.S. Eastern Standard Time to clarify and explain the Defining Cognitive Phenotypes of Parkinson’s Disease program and answer applicant questions. To participate in the call, you must RSVP via email to conferencecalls@michaeljfox.org. Participants will receive a reply with call-in details.
Please visit the Foundation’s website, www.michaeljfox.org, for access to the RFA and instructions for submitting pre-proposal online. Pre-Proposals are due April 26, 2011, 6:00pm U.S. Eastern Time. For any questions about the program, please e-mail research@michaeljfox.org.
How Well Is Your Doctor Caring for People with Parkinson's Disease?
New AAN Tool Helps Measure Care
St. Paul, Minn. -- The American Academy of Neurology has developed a new tool to help doctors gauge how well they are caring for people with Parkinson's disease. The new quality measures are published in the November 30, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
"Quality measures have been developed for conditions seen by primary care doctors for years, but not for many specialty care conditions such as brain disorders," said lead quality measures author Eric M. Cheng, MD, MS, with David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Measuring the quality of health care is a fundamental step toward improving health care, and many quality measurement efforts are under way. The American Academy of Neurology is taking a leading role in ensuring that the quality of care for people with neurologic disorders is included in these efforts."
The Academy measures for Parkinson's disease help doctors to determine how well they are caring for nonmotor symptoms of the disease such as depression, sleep and falls. "These symptoms can be overlooked but have a great impact on a person's quality of life," Cheng said. The measures also include assessing symptoms, treatment and counseling a person on preventable complications of the disease.
"Quality measures like these will be increasingly important for extending the best care possible to people with neurologic disorders like Parkinson's disease," said Cheng.
The AAN is working on developing similar measures in epilepsy, stroke, dementia, neuropathy, headache and multiple sclerosis.
It is estimated that about 1 million people in the United States have Parkinson's disease.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 22,500 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit www.aan.com.
Pediatric Movement Disorders: Diagnosis, Assessment and Management
A Focus on Cerebral Palsy
Pediatricians and other clinicians who diagnose and manage children and young adults with movement disorders can access this new online CME activity, “Pediatric Movement Disorders: Diagnosis, Assessment and Management,” in WE MOVE’s Movement Disorder Virtual University at www.mdvu.org/classrooms/cme
This educational activity features up-to-date, practical information and video footage about movement disorders including ataxia, bradykinesia, chorea and choreoathetosis, clonus, dystonia, myoclonus, restless legs syndrome, rigidity, spasticity, tics and tremor.
This online CME activity addresses these ACGME Outcomes: medical knowledge and patient care.
Deborah Gaebler-Spira, MD, a medical reviewer of this CME activity and pediatric physiatrist states, “Babies and children depend on movement to learn, develop and grow. Therefore, early identification of movement disorders or suspected delays is critical. Interventions should be appropriately selected to maximize the child’s potential in all areas of development and function.”
Specific learning objectives for this self-directed educational activity include:
- Describe and differentiate among the various types of abnormal movements in childhood movement disorders
- Discuss aspects of evaluation that increase the chances of revealing and identifying a movement disorder
- Explain how child development may be affected by the presence of movement disorders
- Discuss treatment options for cerebral palsy in terms of risks and benefits
Joy Leffler, WE MOVE’s Director of Education and Informatics states, “The educational format is intuitive and well organized. The video segments, which create a ‘real life’ feel, provide an enhanced, user friendly learning environment, allowing clinicians to potentially improve diagnostic skills though accurate, timely recognition.”
Medical reviewers for this CME activity include these key opinion leaders from pediatric physiatry and child neurology:
- Deborah Gaebler-Spira, MD: Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine; Chicago, Illinois.
- Alexander H Hoon, MD, MPH: Director, Phelps Center for Cerebral Palsy and Neurodevelopmental Medicine at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, Maryland.
- Barry Russman, MD: Clinical Professor of Pediatric Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University; Portland, Oregon.
- Ann Tilton, MD: Professor of Neurology & Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center; New Orleans, Louisiana.
To access this or any other online WE MOVE CME activity, visit the Movement Disorder Virtual University at www.mdvu.org
Clinicians are encouraged to take advantage of other resources in the Movement Disorder University including rating scales and data forms; teaching slide sets; research news reports; fact sheets for patients and families; and community news and resources.
Accreditation Statement and CME Information: WE MOVE is accredited by the ACCME to provide CME for physicians. This continuing medical education (CME) activity was planned and produced in accordance with the essential areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).
Credit Designation: WE MOVE designates this online educational activity (enduring material) for a maximum of 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.
ACGME Outcomes: This online CME activity also addresses these ACGME Outcomes: medical knowledge and patient care.
Funding Statement: WE MOVE gratefully acknowledges an unrestricted educational grant from Allergan, Inc., through which we are able to produce this activity and provide CME credit to physicians.
About WE MOVE
WE MOVE is a not-for-profit organization that has been educating and informing the movement disorder community since 1991. The organization's mission is to utilize creativity, innovation, and collaborative approaches to improve awareness, diagnosis, and management of movement disorders among people living with these conditions and the professionals who care for them.
WE MOVE believes that increased knowledge and understanding promote timely, accurate diagnosis and up-to-date treatment, resulting in a better quality of life for individuals affected by movement disorders.
PSG Mentoring Committee Announces Advisor Program For New Investigators
The Parkinson Study Group Mentoring Committee has developed an Advisor Program for new investigators who are initiating a research career or continuing an existing research area.
PSG has established a bank of advisors who are willing to help you find a local mentor in your area (both research and geographic) or help you find specific research funding sources (foundations, etc) for your research. The advisors would not be the mentors per se, but rather facilitate finding a mentor or help you begin a research career in a certain area.
If you would like to participate in this program, please complete the application form on the PSG website (www.parkinson-study-group.org) and you will receive a response within 7 business days.
Both the advisor and advisee will keep confidential any information received or obtained as a result of participating in the program that is identified as or would be reasonably expected to be confidential, unless they agree otherwise.
If you have any questions, please contact Roseanna Battista at roseanna.battista@ctcc.rochester.edu. We hope you take advantage of this program and we look forward to providing an enriching experience for you!
Joel Perlmutter, MD, Chair
Jon Stoessl, CM, MD, Co-chair
Cindy Comella, MD, Ad-Hoc member
Participants Sought for Neuroacanthocytosis and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Project
The EC-funded (E-Rare JTC 2009) EMINA project (European Multidisciplinary Initiative on Neuroacanthocytosis) links a network of six partner organizations in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Turkey, in order to use their combined expertise to take a significant step forward in both basic research and applied clinical research into neuroacanthocytosis (NA) syndromes.
Within this project, led by Adrian Danek and Benedikt Bader, Munich, cases of NA (ChAc/chorea-acanthocytosis and McLeod Syndrome) who underwent DBS surgery to treat their movement disorder are collected. The aim of this EMINA sub-project is to propose recommendations for DBS surgery in NA based on a review of cases and on expert opinion.
If you are willing to participate in this case study by filling out a short retrospective data collection sheet and questionnaire, please contact Professor François Tison, MD, PhD at francois.tison@chu-bordeaux.fr.
MDS Accepting Applications for the Visiting Professor Program
The Movement Disorder Society (MDS) is currently accepting applications for countries interested in hosting a Visiting Professor in the MDS-sponsored Visiting Professor Program.
The MDS Visiting Professor Program provides educational opportunities in Movement Disorders to regions of the world that are under represented in MDS and do not have regular access to educational programs in Movement Disorders.
For more information or applications for this program, please click on the following link, http://www.movementdisorders.org/education/visitingprofessor.shtml or contact Kirk Terry, Director of Education, at +1 414-276-2145.