MDS Podcast

There is an important role for cost-effective clinical biomarkers in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Dr. Eduardo de Pablo-Fernández and Dr. Cecilia Tremblay discuss how accurate hyposmia and REM sleep behavior disorder can predict Lewy pathology in a non-selected population using data from the Arizona clinicopathological study on Aging and Neurodegeneration. Read the article.

Dr. Jennifer Eisenhauer joins Dr. Sara Schaefer to discuss her recent article describing a combined therapy approach for adult patient with tics: habit reversal therapy (HRT) + acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). They further discuss what these therapies are, their effect in tics, what is gratifying about working with patients with tics, and next steps to determine efficacy of this approach. Read the article.

Tommaso Schirinzi, a neurologist at Tor Vergata University of Rome, discusses groundbreaking research on immune and metabolic markers in blood cells related to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). He reveals insights about the role of neuroinflammation in PSP and compares it with other neurodegenerative diseases. The conversation highlights elevated immune response indicators, the significance of mitochondrial bioenergetics, and the implications of phosphorylated tau proteins as potential biomarkers for treatment development. Future research directions stress the need for collaboration to explore these complex relationships further.

Dr. Shiro Horisawa discusses the latest clinical trial results on MR-guided focused ultrasound pallidothalamic tractotomy for cervical dystonia. He explores the technique's limitations, future prospects, and how it compares to existing therapeutic options. Read the article.

Dr. Hugo Morales Briceno interviews Prof. Ray Chaudhuri to discuss the real world-use of levodopa subcutaneous infusion in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Chan joins the podcast to discuss the results of their pilot study with Dr. Eduardo De Pablo-Fernández. The study uses a foot vibrotactile stimulation as an external cue for the treatment of freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease. Together they discuss how vibrotactile devices can be implemented in clinical practice. Read the article.

In this episode, Prof. Alexander Münchau talks about how machine learning video-based assessments can be leveraged to quantify tics in Tourette syndrome and how this technology has the potential to assist clinicians in tic detection. Read the article.

In this episode, Dr. Aasef Shaikh and Dr. Ming-Kai Pan give us a virtual guided tour of their labs, particularly discussing what they are presently working on. They further elaborate on how these studies can inform our understanding of tremor physiology and where they believe the field should be heading in order to finally understand tremor origin.

Dr. Michele Matarazzo interviews Dr. Victor Fung, President of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society and lead author of the recent viewpoint published in the Movement Disorders journal. Together, they explore the biological definition and classification of Parkinson's disease, discussing its key insights, future prospects, and the implications of recent advances in the field. Read the article.

In this episode Dr. Ludy Shih briefly describes the current approach to tremor, including pharmacological treatments, botulinum toxin injections and deep brain stimulation. She further dives into the exciting new developments of the past few years and new drugs coming down the pipeline.