MDS Podcast

Ms. Nicole Duff and Prof. Hae-Young Hawong discuss the benefits of Argentine tango in the rehabilitation of person's with Parkinson disease. The motor, non-motor, social, and quality of life gains are all explored; in addition to, the neuro-anatomical, neurophysiological and neuroplastic benefits. Prof. Hawong also describes the very successful and passion-based Argentine tango program she has established at the Yale School of Medicine.

Dr. Norihito Uemura joins Prof. Tiago Outeiro to discuss perampanel, an AMPA receptor antagonist, and how it has been shown to block alpha-synuclein propagation and neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Lewy body disease. Dr. Uemura explains the mechanistic findings of transsynaptic propagation and the study limitations pertaining to mouse behavior. They also discuss perampanel’s established therapeutic ranges in epilepsy, review limited prior Parkinson’s data, and outline next steps including a potential clinical trial in Parkinson’s disease patients. Read article. Journal CME is available until June 5, 2027.

Nicole Duff and Dr. Marjan Meinders discuss end of life preferences of people with Parkinson’s disease. Together they discuss the ways that end-of-life records could be sourced, as well as what information could be found in the end-of-life record. They further dive into the differences between specific European countries and the reasons around the low rate of end-of-life records for people with Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Connie Marras discusses with Dr. Sara Schaefer her recent study in Movement Disorders Clinical Practice exploring the perspective of Persons with Parkinson's disease on the definition of quality of life.

Read the article.

Myths and misconceptions related to the surgical risks of deep brain stimulation (DBS) procedures remain common despite many years of evidence demonstrating its relative safety. This leads to both patient and provider fear in referring eligible patients for consideration of a potentially life-altering therapy for symptom management in many movement disorders. Dr. Mitra Afshari speaks to functional neurosurgeon, Dr. Chengyuan Wu, about a recent large retrospective study he conducted comparing risks of DBS surgery to other common elective surgeries. They also bring in the perspective of DBS specialist, Dr. Delaram Safarpour, who recently published expert consensus recommendations for referral of Parkinson’s disease patients for DBS. Listen in on the lively discussion of how we can reframe this conversation with our patients and colleagues.


Read the retrospective study.


Read the expert consensus recommendations.