Improving access to Parkinson’s disease resources on Amazon’s Alexa

News

Author: Simge Eva DoganPublished: 29 October 2020

Prep: Cook: Serves:

US non-profit Parkinson’s Foundation has announced a new partnership with Amazon’s smart speaker Alexa to help more people access resources related to Parkinson’s disease.

As part of the collaboration, Alexa-enabled devices will answer questions about Parkinson’s disease in English and Spanish, citing sources from Parkinson’s Foundation. The educational initiative is aimed at people with the condition, their care partners, family and friends and health professionals – and will help them find information on topics including Covid-19 and Parkinson’s, symptoms and early signs of the condition, and more.

John L Lehr, president and CEO of Parkinson’s Foundation, said: “We are thrilled to work with Amazon to move into this exciting world of smart speakers to help even more people gain access to the information about Parkinson’s disease they need most. Our hope is that this partnership will help us further reach and better support Parkinson’s disease community throughout every stage of their journey.”

Find out more about Parkinson’s Foundation’s partnership with Amazon’s Alexa.

People with Parkinson’s disease have a higher risk of dying from Covid-19, study finds

Last Month

Next Month

Go Back

Share this story

Comments

Interviews

Providing free speech therapy for New York’s Parkinson’s community

We talk to student clinician Beata Royzman about speech therapy for Parkins

5 podcasts for people with Parkinson’s disease

From a beginner’s guide to the condition, to life after DBS

Ask the expert: How close are we to a cure for Parkinson’s disease?

We talk to the deputy CEO of the Michael J Fox Foundation

Study finds just six minutes of daily exercise might delay onset of Parkinson’s disease

Regular exercise is a common therapeutic strategy for people with Parkinson’s. Now, a study from New Zealand has suggested that daily physical activity might even delay the onset of this condition. Published in ‘The Physiological Society’, the study focused on a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) – which has previously been shown to boost cognitive performance. The researchers assessed the impact of fasting and physical activity on BDNF production in 12 people aged 18 to 56. The tests involved fasting and completing exercises of varying intensity, such as cycling for six minutes, as well as combinations of both fasting and physical activity. The results showed that brief, intense exercise was the best option for increasing the production of BDNF – with the protein increasing by a factor of four to five times compared to light exercise or fasting. Because BDNF can protect the brain from cognitive decline, the findings could…

Machine learning may help predict risk of freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease

Difficulty taking steps forward, often referred to as the freezing of gait (FOG), is a common symptom experienced by people with Parkinson’s and one that can be difficult to predict. China-based researchers suggest that machine learning – artificial intelligence (AI) that uses algorithms to analyse data – could help predict the risk of freezing of gait developing in the early stages of the condition. Their study, published in ‘npj Parkinson’s Disease’, gave laboratory and clinical data to a machine learning model brain. This information was collected from 158 adults with untreated early-stage Parkinson’s and 73 healthy adults over a five-year period. They found that the risk of FOG could be predicted with an accuracy rate of up to 78%. The study authors suggested that machine learning methods “have the potential to help predict future FOG in patients with early Parkinson’s at an individual level”.

Long-term exposure to air pollution could impact Parkinson’s disease mortality risk

New research has suggested that long-term exposure to air pollutants could increase the risk of death from Parkinson’s. A team of European researchers conducted the study, published in the journal ‘Environment International’, as part of the Effects of Low-Level Air Pollution: A Study in Europe (ELAPSE) project – a Europe-wide initiative looking at the effects of low air pollution levels on people’s health. The researchers used ELAPSE’s datasets to analyse figures for over 200,000 adults from six European countries. They also looked at air pollution models, estimating the concentrations of air pollutants in these countries to explore the link between pollution exposure and deaths from Parkinson’s. The results suggest that long-term exposure to PM2.5 particles at high levels was associated with a 25% higher risk of death from the condition, and the authors of the study added that the research “adds strong evidence in support of an association between air…

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
Phone
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Improving access to Parkinson’s disease resources on Amazon’s Alexa

News

Author: Simge Eva DoganPublished: 29 October 2020

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Interviews

Providing free speech therapy for New York’s Parkinson’s community

Resources & Tools

5 podcasts for people with Parkinson’s disease

Special reports

Ask the expert: How close are we to a cure for Parkinson’s disease?

Study finds just six minutes of daily exercise might delay onset of Parkinson’s disease

Machine learning may help predict risk of freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease

Long-term exposure to air pollution could impact Parkinson’s disease mortality risk

{title}

Subscribe

Improving access to Parkinson’s disease resources on Amazon’s Alexa

News

Author: Simge Eva DoganPublished: 29 October 2020

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Related articles

Interviews

Providing free speech therapy for New York’s Parkinson’s community

Resources & Tools

5 podcasts for people with Parkinson’s disease

Special reports

Ask the expert: How close are we to a cure for Parkinson’s disease?

Study finds just six minutes of daily exercise might delay onset of Parkinson’s disease

Machine learning may help predict risk of freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease

Long-term exposure to air pollution could impact Parkinson’s disease mortality risk

{title}

Subscribe

Sign in