Interesting and Exciting News about the Wii Fit and Parkinson's Disease...

Very interesting news about the wii fit and how a lady's led her to being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease...if you haven't already heard you may be fascinated or better yet intrigued by this story. Her name is Julie and she discovered that she had Parkinson's disease when she started using the wii fit, she noticed that she leaned severely to one side while standing on the balance board.Julie had other symptoms that including problems with walking and balance and impaired memory, although she chose to ignore these symptoms until she recognized how offset her balance was by how bad she performed on the wii fit, this led her to a doctor, where she was properly diagnosed. She continues to regularly exercise and to use the wii fit. Julie is an example of a special case, not everyone is diagnosed this way and not all cases of Parkinson's are this unique. As always please consult with your physician before beginning a new exercise regime or treatment plan. For more information please visit our website at http://www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org/ Thank you for your continued support.

Everyone's talking about the Nitendo Wii...have you heard???

Everyone's talking about it....have you heard? The Nitendo wii has been used as a therapeutic tool to help treat Parkinson's patients improve their balance, mobility, and rigidity. Many studies and clinical trials are currently being conducted throughout the United States and around the world to develop games specifically geared towards helping maintain Parkinson's disease and managing the debilitating symptoms of the disease through the use of a Nintendo Wii. We use the system as a form of therapy and encourage our patients to try the wii to help increase movements and fluidity. It's a fun activity that can be done alone or in a group, standing or seated. Grants are currently being written for research and as games and more information is released regarding the wii, the foundation will definitely pass this along to our supporters. As always, please consult with your physician before beginning a new exercise plan or health regime. For more information, please visit us on the web at http://www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org/ Thank you for your continued support!

Are you sailing with us?

Are you sailing with us to Grand Cayman and Cozumel on February 26th-March 3rd? Our 3rd Annual Parkinson's Educational Cruise is approaching...you definitely DO NOT want to miss out on this educational opportunity. There will prominent Parkinson's experts, and clinicians on board teaching about the latest in the field of Parkinson's disease.This cruise will feature a “pirate” theme with fun social events including a scavenger hunt, themed parties, and optional shore excursions. Don’t forget your swords, patches, jewels, and parrots; or you may just have to walk the plank. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org/ Thank you for your continued support!

Are you consuming enough fiber?

According to a recent blog entry about nutrition, PD patients should increase their daily intake of fiber by eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables and aim for consuming 9. Some of the high fiber fruits and veggies are apples, oranges, berries, brussels sprouts, green cabbage,eggplant, avocado, artichoke, tomatoes and beans such as garbanzo and lima. We find this information helpful, insightful, and extremely interesting....everyone should implement this in their diet to stay active and healthy! For more information regarding nutrition or other information about Parkinson's disease, please visit our website at http://www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org/ As always please consult with your physician before beginning a new diet or health regime. Thank you for your continued support.

Treatments and Experiments....

Originally posted by: Ryan McBride 1/10/11
According to information released on the web, Civitas says it has secured $20 million in a Series A round of funding, which is primarily intended to back development of the startup’s technology for treating patients with Parkinson’s disease, says Glenn Batchelder, a founder and CEO of the firm.The firm sees such benefit potential for patients with Parkinson’s.Patients with the neurological disease have trouble moving, especially when typically oral drugs such as L-dopa and other pills fall short on keeping steady levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine in their system.Parkinson’s can also rob people of their normal capacity to swallow, he says, and that too can be overcome with inhaled delivery.The company isn’t saying which drugs it plans to deliver in the inhaled particles, including in the Parkinson’s program. Yet the firm hopes to begin initial clinical studies in humans in early 2012 for the Parkinson’s treatment and have some validation of that program by the end of the year.

To learn more about this topic or to read the full article, please visit the link below.
http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2011/01/10/alkermes-finds-new-home-for-inhaled-drug-delivery-tech-with-civitas-spinout/

The Parkinson Research Foundation is a nonprofit health organization providing Parkinson's research, information and advocacy. The mission of the organization is to cure Parkinson's and to improve the lives of all people affected by the disease. To fulfill this mission, the Parkinson Research Foundation funds research, publishes scientific findings, provides funding for information and other services to people with Parkinson's, their families, health care professionals and to the general public. The Parkinson Research Foundation is designated as a 501(c)(3) charity by the Internal Revenue Service.

To learn more about the Parkinson Research Foundation, to help support our mission, or learn how you can get involved please visit us at http://www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org

Join us on our "Parkies of the Sea" Adventure....

SARASOTA, FL, November 3, 2010 after continued success of its first two cruises The Parkinson Research Foundation will be launching another Parkinson’s Educational Cruise that will leave Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on February 26th, 2011. This 5-day cruise aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ship Navigator of the Seas, is designed for Parkinson’s disease patients, caregivers and their families, and will provide a series of seminars and lectures about this disease as well as the opportunity to share some of the most amazing views in the Western Caribbean.

This cruise will feature a “Pirates” theme and will combine informative educational programs, as well as fun social events including a scavenger hunt, themed parties, and optional shore excursions. Don’t forget your swords, patches, jewels, and parrots; or you may just have to walk the plank.

The program for the cruise will include presentations by prominent Parkinson’s disease physicians and clinicians; Dr. Juan Sanchez-Ramos, Dr. Thomas Chase, Dr. Kathleen Clarence-Smith, Mary Spremulli, Jeanne Csuy, etc. Patients and their caregivers will also be given the opportunity to participate in support group meetings, exercise classes and wellness seminars. For more information, contact Lynne Henry, lhenry@parkinsonresearchfoundation.org, or log on to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org.

The Parkinson Research Foundation is a nonprofit health organization providing Parkinson's research, information and advocacy. The mission of the organization is to cure Parkinson's and to improve the lives of all people affected by the disease. To fulfill this mission, the Parkinson Research Foundation funds research, publishes scientific findings, provides funding for information and other services to people with Parkinson's, their families, health care professionals and to the general public. The Parkinson Research Foundation is designated as a 501(c)(3) charity by the Internal Revenue Service.

Leukemia drug linked to Parkinson's disease...

According to new releases...A drug that has already been used to treat some leukemia patients appear to have prevented brain cells linked to Parkinson's disease from being destroyed in mice, this finding shows that could slow progression of the disease, researchers are report. The research is still relatively early, and the drug used in this experiment has not shown affective results in the brain.Similar drugs are being developed that may be able to work better to stimulate the brain as well as target the specific enzyme which is faulty. The researchers first discovered a mechanism at work in Parkinson's disease that prevents a protein called parkin from doing its job of keeping the brain clear of other proteins that can accumulate and kill off cells. For more information about Parkinson's disease in the news or other information, please visit our website at http://www.parkinsonreserachfoundation.org/ As always please consult your physician before beginning a new regime. Thank you for your continued support.