2010 PARKINSON’S DISEASE COMMUNITY EDUCATION DAY OCT. 16
Click to download registration form. Best if printed on legal size paper.
Click to download registration form. Best if printed on legal size paper.
WE HAVE A BRAND NEW WEB SITE! Visit us at www.youngparkinsons.org and discover all of the new features including:
An interactive Young Onset Resource Guide
A new blog, Uniquely Young Onset
Your Stories…our newest “faces of experience”
New or updated articles and information
More user-friendly navigation system
Keyword search function and much more…
We hope you enjoy the new site.
Sincerely,
APDA National Young Onset Center
________________________________________________________
COMING TO ATLANTA? Join us for the next in our Young Onset Parkinson Conference Series.
The Southeastern Parkinson Disease Conference
October 15-17, 2010
Sheraton Gateway Hotel
REGISTER NOW!
Thought you might like to know that my program, Battles with Parkinson’s Disease, won an Emmy Award! The ceremony was sponsored by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay (NCCB) Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). The Emmy Award submissions, which totaled 718 this year, were broadcast between January 1 ? December 31, 2009 and judged by panels assembled by the Michigan, Mid?America, Northwest (Seattle), Ohio Valley, San Francisco/Northern California, and Suncoast Chapters.
Thanks again for all your help in making this program a success.
Roberta Fountain
Parkinson’s disease documentary highlights The Jackson Laboratory
A new documentary about the devastating effects of Parkinson’s disease, produced by the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, highlights the work of The Jackson Laboratory and the funding it receives from the Michael J. Fox Foundation in advancing Parkinson’s research. Read more
The program was broadcast earlier on June, but is now available on line at:
http://www.mpbn.net/EasingtheBurden/tabid/1148/Default.aspx
Join us this fall as the presenters and webcasts of the
APDA/NPF Young Onset Parkinson Conference
become an integral part of the
2010 SOUTHEASTERN PARKINSON DISEASE CONFERENCE
October 15-17 ? Atlanta, GA
CONFERENCE DETAILS
Total Registration Fee: $79 per person
(Includes all conference events, welcome reception
and breakfast Saturday through lunch on Sunday)
* For adults of all ages with a special young onset program track *
Preliminary Agenda & Program Highlights
For additional details and hotel information,
visit Event Registration or our Web site: www.youngparkinsons.org
REGISTER NOW
The Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN) is pleased to announce the Parkinson’s Disease Work-Related Disability Assessment Form. The form is available for download on our Web site.
www.parkinsonsaction.org
It has been brought to our attention that people with Parkinson’s may experience trouble seeking Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits due to inadequate documentation of symptoms in their medical record. This form may be helpful to Social Security reviewers during the SSDI/SSI application process. It was created with the hope that it will be used by both clinicians and patients as a way to document and track a person’s symptoms with particular focus on the symptoms that are most likely to interfere with one’s ability to work.
The Parkinson’s Disease Work-Related Disability Assessment form is designed to supplement a patient’s medical record and is not a Social Security Administration form or application.
PAN, together with the other national Parkinson’s organizations, asks for your help in distributing this form. Distributing the form to people living with Parkinson’s, caregivers/carepartners, doctors, support groups, and online communities is essential in assuring that the form makes it into the hands of patients and doctors and ultimately into medical records. The form can be downloaded, printed, posted on bulletin boards, discussed with doctors or support groups, and posted on-line. It is free for all to use.
PAN thanks Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., now part of Abbott, for their generous support of the creation of this important project.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have taken a significant step forward in developing a vaccination approach to reverse the neurological damage seen with Parkinson’s disease.
The findings appear in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Immunology, a leading scientific journal in the field of immunology.
The cause of Parkinson’s disease is the loss of neurons which produce dopamine, a nerve signaling chemical that controls movement and balance. The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation estimates that about 1 million people in the United States and more than 4 million people worldwide have the disease.
Degeneration and loss of these dopamine-producing neurons typically occur after age 60, and it is estimated that one person in 20 over the age of 80 has Parkinson’s.
Neurodegeneration occurs when a normal protein called alpha synuclein clumps, changes shape, then accumulates in the brain. This results in the body attacking it through inflammation and causing destruction of dopamine-producing nerve cells.
In the study, researchers reversed the neurodegenerative effects of alpha synuclein by changing immune responses to it. The vaccine strategy trains the immune system for eliciting neuroprotective responses in damaged brain regions.
In mice with an experimental form of Parkinson’s disease, injection of the vaccine produced cells that were able to reverse the disease. After receiving the treatment, these mice were found to have a similar number of dopamine-producing nerve cells and fibers as mice without Parkinson’s.
“We believe this could be a revolutionary means for Parkinson’s disease therapeutics,” said Howard Gendelman, M.D., who partnered with R. Lee Mosley, Ph.D., to lead the research. “It has been a long journey representing more than 10 years of hard work by our research team.”
The researchers found that the vaccine enabled T cells in the treated mice to migrate to the damaged area of the brain and triggered a neuroprotective response that reduced disease-linked reactions in the brain.
T cells are white blood cells that are of key importance to the immune system and are at the core of adaptive immunity, the system that tailors the body’s immune response to infectious organisms. The T cells act like soldiers who search out and destroy the targeted invaders.
“The identical immune deficits seen in mice are being looked at in humans with Parkinson’s disease,” Dr. Mosley said. “Early results are encouraging. This should pave the way for researchers to begin follow-up studies on the Parkinson’s treatments and open up new opportunities to realize an immunization approach for other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease).”
Dr. Gendelman said additional work is needed to determine how to translate the study results into a therapy for humans and to make sure the treatment is safe for patients.
Human studies are being conducted at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and within the next month at UNMC to determine if the immune deficits seen in mice also are present in humans with Parkinson’s disease. Such studies are required before vaccine trials are performed in humans, Dr. Gendelman said. This phase of the research is being made possible through funding from the Shoemaker Foundation in Nebraska.
James Linder, M.D., CEO of UNeMed, UNMC’s technology transfer company, said UNeMed has filed a patent application on the vaccine and will soon commence discussions with commercial partners on bringing the vaccine to the clinical setting.
Dr. Gendelman is professor and chairman of the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience (PEN). Dr. Mosley is associate professor in the PEN department. They teamed with three graduate students, Ashley Reynolds, Ph.D., David Stone and Jessica Hutter, who were responsible for performing the study and analyzing its results.
What others are saying:
“Dr. Gendelman and his team are to be congratulated for their important insights as to why dopamine-producing cells die and how to rescue these cells, which are the pathological hallmark in Parkinson’s disease. This seminal work is extremely significant since it provides a cogent rationale for immune-based strategies in human Parkinson’s disease and a unique and important opportunity to develop novel neuroprotective therapies.” — Stanley Appel M.D., chairman, neurology, Methodist Neurological Institute, Houston
“I think this work is really important. The studies in this new report, along with other data from the Gendelman group, our own lab, and others are leading to a completely new way of thinking about the role of immunity in PD. The new information points to a central role of the immune system as a causative element of the Parkinson degenerative process.
“This work leads to the idea that it might be possible to develop a vaccine which could alter immune responses in human PD and slow or prevent the progression of Parkinson’s disease. This concept would most likely have been dismissed as a ‘crazy idea’ just a few years ago, but these studies put the proposal on solid scientific footing. If we can confirm Dr. Gendelman’s findings in humans, this would open the door to an important new class of therapies for Parkinson’s disease.” — David Standaert, M.D., Ph.D., professor and vice chair, neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), who is collaborating with Dr. Gendelman by studying T cell functions in Parkinson’s patients
“This discovery has the potential to impact millions of people affected by Parkinson’s disease. We are very enthusiastic about finding a company to help bring this technology through the clinic.” — Michael Dixon, Ph.D. president, UNeMed Corporation, technology transfer company for UNMC
“As a treating physician, using medications or surgical interventions to manage the disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is rewarding. But having the possibility to alter the course of the disease would be revolutionary. The successful approach to a vaccine in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease opens new treatment horizons. If eventually proven to have similar effectiveness in humans, such a vaccine could dramatically change what can be done about Parkinson’s disease. I am proud of our efforts at UNMC to treat and find a cure for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.” ¬Diego Torres-Russotto, M.D., assistant professor, neurological sciences, and director of UNMC Movement Disorders Program
SOURCE University of Nebraska Medical Center
To benefit Parkinson’s Action Network
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Capital Hilton Hotel
1001 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Reception, 6:00 PM – Dinner & Awards, 7:00 PM
Diane and John Rehm
Co-Chairs
Morton Kondracke
Co-Chair
Michael J. Fox
Honorary Chair
Lonnie Ali
Special Program Guest
The Honorable Gordon Smith
Former United States Senator
2010 Morris K. Udall Award for Public Service
James Trussell
PAN Georgia State Coordinator
The Milly Kondracke Award for Outstanding Advocacy
Click here to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.
For more details, please call Gianna Tripodi-Bhise, Director of Development
at 202-638-4101 ext. 102 or gbhise@parkinsonsaction.org.
For more details on the Dinner, visit our Web site or e-mail
udalldinner@parkinsonsaction.org.
Invitations will be sent in July.
The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF) is pleased to announce the launch the Parkinson’s Quilt Project – the first global quilt project to focus the world’s attention on the nearly one million people in the US and more than 4.1 million people worldwide living with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The project aims to raise awareness of the impact that the disease has on people living with Parkinson’s – along with their families, caregivers and friends – and our continued urgency to find a cure.
The Quilt will consist of panels calling attention to the Parkinson’s cause and honoring persons living with Parkinson’s. PDF invites everyone affected by Parkinson’s – people living with PD, caregivers, family members, friends and others – to contribute to the Quilt. Participants can submit single panel or can instead design an entire section with family, friends or support group members.
The Parkinson’s Quilt will be displayed for the first time at the 2nd World Parkinson Congress in Glasgow, Scotland from September 28th through October 1, 2010. After this initial showing, blocks of the Quilt will be available through 2011 for renting to display at PD events. Details of this opportunity will be made available in 2010.
Those who are interested in the Quilt Project are encouraged to join online using the link below and to call PDF’s toll-free number, (800) 457-6676, with any questions.
Join the Parkinson’s Quilt Project Today
SUPPORT A QUILTER by clicking on the GLOBAL QUILT PROJECT Link on the right.
SEARCH for CHERYL MAJESKE
Dear Friends of the APDA
We are pleased to inform you that the Hope Conference 2009 Presentations are now available on our website for you to view
If you would like to watch the presentations given by:-
Dr William Langston
Dr Laurie Mischely
Dr Jim Leverenz
Dr Steve Setter
Dr Susie Ro
Please click on the link below
HOPE CONFERENCE 2009
The Washington State Parkinson’s Disease Registry
I am delighted to inform you that the WPDR has nearly reached its first milestone of 1000 Registrants – today they are at 989 – only 11 more to go before that 1st target is reached.
If you are thinking about joing the WPDR please click on the link below and help the Registry reach 1000 before the end of 2009
Thank you
WPDR
Washington State Chapter APDA
Attention: Evie Davis
PO Box 75169
Seattle WA 98175
Phone: 425-443-8269
Fax: 866-499-2925
Email: evedavis@gmail.com
Web: www.waparkinsons.org