Health and Fitness

Northwestern Medicine Hosts Parkinson’s Patient and Family Symposium


Symposium highlights current research and treatment options, features art exhibit by patients with Parkinson’s disease

CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–August 21, 2012.  The Northwestern Medicine® Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center will host its annual Patient and Family Symposium on Saturday, September 29, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The free symposium entitled “Parkinson’s Disease Moving Forward” will provide patients, families and caregivers with information about the many facets of living with Parkinson’s including treatment options, research updates, and tips for managing the psychological aspects of the chronic disease.

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that affects up to 1.5 million Americans with an additional 50,000 to 60,000 new cases identified each year. People with Parkinson’s lack dopamine in the brain, which leads to tremor, slowness of movement, muscle stiffness and balance problems.

“Parkinson’s is a disease that impacts not just the person diagnosed with the disease, but also their family and loved ones,” said Tanya Simuni, MD, director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center. “The disease evolves, causing its symptoms, as well as its burden, to change overtime. The goal of this symposium is to provide patients, families and caregivers the educational tools they need to not just live with the disease, but to thrive with it.”

Attendees will have an opportunity to listen to Northwestern’s Parkinson’s disease experts, as well as speakers from other organizations, discuss the many aspects of research and patient care. Sessions will cover a variety of topics including:

  • Positive Psychology: A path to greater well-being – presented by Helene Moore, PsyD, MAPP, health psychologist at Northwestern Integrative Medicine  
  • Parkinson’s Disease Present and Future – presented by Tanya Simuni, MD, movement disorders specialist at Northwestern Memorial, director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, and Arthur C. Nielsen Jr. Research professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine  
  • Non-motor Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease – presented by Cindy Zadikoff, MD, movement disorders specialist at Northwestern Memorial and assistant professor of neurology at the Feinberg School   
  • REM Sleep Behavior Disorder in Parkinson’s Disease – presented by Aleksandar Videnovic, MD, movement disorders specialist at Northwestern Memorial and assistant professor of neurology at the Feinberg School  
  • Surgery Update – presented by Joshua Rosenow, MD, neurosurgeon and director of functional neurosurgery at Northwestern Memorial and associate professor of neurosurgery at the Feinberg School

Following their presentations, the physicians will join together on a panel during which attendees can ask questions. The symposium will wrap with a series of breakout sessions including: a medications and surgery question-and-answer; a discussion about exercise led by Santiago Toledo, MD, physical rehabilitation medicine specialist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) and assistant professor at the Feinberg School; therapy through art and music lead by Leslee Goldman, LPC, ATR-BC, and Jenni Rook, LPC, MT-BC; and care partners and children of people with Parkinson’s with Diane Breslow, MSW, coordinator of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center. Art created by patients with Parkinson’s will also be exhibited during the symposium.

The symposium will run from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and includes continental breakfast and free parking. Northwestern Memorial is located at 251 E. Huron Street in Chicago. To register for the symposium, call 312-926-8400.

Northwestern Parkinson ’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center is the only National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence in Illinois. The center provides innovative, multidisciplinary care, while also conducting research to extend knowledge and treatment of movement disorders. There is an emphasis on education and support for patients, families, caregivers, healthcare providers and the community. For more information, visit Northwestern Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Centers website.

Northwestern Medicine is the shared vision that joins Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in a collaborative effort to transform medicine through quality healthcare, academic excellence and scientific discovery.

To find a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, call 312-926-0779.
  

Source: nmh.org


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