Keeping step with Parkinson’s: balance, posture and gait

Resources & Tools

Author: Parkinson's Life editorsPublished: 20 September 2017

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Senior couple exercising on fitness ball

Gait and balance dysfunction can cause serious injury or a loss of independence. In this episode of the Third Thursday webinar series, the Michael J Fox Foundation assesses the best way to manage these symptoms

As part of the Third Thursday webinar series, the Michael J Fox Foundation will be replaying a popular episode that focuses on managing gait and balance dysfunction. The podcast is free to listen to and will air on 21 September at 12:00 EST.

In this instalment, which was originally aired in November 2015, experienced video broadcaster and person with Parkinson’s Dave Iverson hosts a panel discussing balance issues and the most practical ways to protect yourself from falls.

Throughout the hour-long webinar, experts will be available to answer your questions via the live chat function.

It’s free to listen to the discussion – just register here up to 15 minutes before it starts. If you miss the broadcast, you can catch up via the recording in the library archive here.

Drug repurposing: testing a drug approved for one disease for its efficacy in another

Last Month

Next Month

Go Back

Share this story

Comments

Perspectives

Comedy stars unite for ‘Shake with Laughter’

‘Shake with Laughter’ returns to London

Timo’s top 10 tips for travelling with Parkinson’s

Interested in a Parkinson’s event, but live far away? Read this

Tremor-reducing GyroGlove set to launch in 2017

Volunteer testers wanted as launch date nears

Mouse study suggests neurodegenerative disease begins soon after birth

A study published in the ‘Journal of Clinical Investigation’ has suggested mechanisms that lead to Parkinson’s in adulthood, may begin much earlier than previously thought. The study, carried out by Northwestern University, Illinois, US, researched movement disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 by genetically engineering a mouse to mirror the human disease. Researchers found that altering circuity in the cerebellum – an area of the brain that controls movements – set the stage for later susceptibility to neurological disease. Professor Puneet Opal, who worked on the study, said: “This is the first discovery of alterations in an adult-onset spinocerebellar disorder that stems from such early developmental processes. “This may well be generalisable to a whole host of other diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”

Global Kinetics receives vital funding

Australian-based health company Global Kinetics has received a $AUS 7.75 million investment from the Australian Federal Government’s Biomedical Translation Fund. The investment will be used to commercialise its Parkinson’s KinetiGraph – a smartwatch-style device that continually tracks the involuntary movements of those living with the condition. In addition to the sum from the Australian government, Global Kinetics also announced they are to receive a grant from The Michael J Fox Foundation, Shake It Up Australia Foundation and Parkinson’s Victoria. Mark Frasier, senior vice president of research programmes at The Michael J Fox Foundation, said: “The experience of Parkinson’s varies day-to-day, hour-to-hour. An objective tool, such as the wearable PKG technology, that passively collects data on the experience of Parkinson’s disease could give patients and their doctors greater insight to calibrate treatment plans and improve outcomes.”

Learn more

Smartphone app detects severity of Parkinson’s symptoms

A smartphone app– created by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Rochester Medical Centre and Aston University – can detect the severity of symptoms in people with Parkinson’s, according to a recent study. The study, which appeared in medical journal ‘JAMA’, found that the HopkinsPD app generated severity score levels which strongly correlated with standard movement tests given by physicians. HopkinsPD is expected to help medical professionals analyse Parkinson’s symptoms. Dr Ray Dorsey, neurologist at the University of Rochester, said: “Until these types of studies, we had very limited data on how people function on Saturdays and Sundays because patients don’t come to the clinic. “We also had very limited data about how people with Parkinson’s do at two o’clock in the morning or 11 o’clock at night because, unless they’re hospitalised, they’re generally not being seen in clinics at those times.”

All fields required

First name*
Last name*
Email address*
Enter Email Confirm Email
Country of residence*
About me*
- I have Parkinson's disease
- I am a partner / carer / family / friend of someone who has Parkinson's
- I am a healthcare professional with an interest in Parkinson's
- I work for a Parkinson's disease organisation
- Other
Captcha
*
- By proceeding you agree to our
Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Keeping step with Parkinson’s: balance, posture and gait

Resources & Tools

Author: Parkinson's Life editorsPublished: 20 September 2017

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Perspectives

Comedy stars unite for ‘Shake with Laughter’

Perspectives

Timo’s top 10 tips for travelling with Parkinson’s

Advances

Tremor-reducing GyroGlove set to launch in 2017

Mouse study suggests neurodegenerative disease begins soon after birth

Global Kinetics receives vital funding

Smartphone app detects severity of Parkinson’s symptoms

{title}

Subscribe

Keeping step with Parkinson’s: balance, posture and gait

Resources & Tools

Author: Parkinson's Life editorsPublished: 20 September 2017

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Related articles

Perspectives

Comedy stars unite for ‘Shake with Laughter’

Perspectives

Timo’s top 10 tips for travelling with Parkinson’s

Advances

Tremor-reducing GyroGlove set to launch in 2017

Mouse study suggests neurodegenerative disease begins soon after birth

Global Kinetics receives vital funding

Smartphone app detects severity of Parkinson’s symptoms

{title}

Subscribe

Sign in