The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson's Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Managing the Hidden Symptoms: Mood and Motivation Changes in Parkinson’s (Webinar Audio) Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

If depression, anxiety or apathy occur as part of a Parkinson’s journey, it can be easy to feel alone, isolated or unsure of what might bring relief. But there are ways to manage these symptoms. Tune into audio from this Third Thursdays Webinar to hear people living with Parkinson’s share their stories of coping with mood changes as well as a movement disorder specialist and psychiatrist discuss pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments options.

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The Foundation’s landmark study, the Parkinson’s Progression Marker’s Initiative, also known as PPMI, is recruiting volunteers. Join the study that’s changing everything at michaeljfox.org/podcast-ppmi.

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All Grit. No Quit. is our bold Campaign to raise $2.5 billion by 2028. This is our biggest push yet toward a world without Parkinson's and we need to bring the full force of our community to meet this moment. Whatever brings you here, you can be a part of accelerating what comes next. michaeljfox.org/campaign/all-grit-no-quit

Your Top Questions on Parkinson’s and Exercise Answered (Ask the MD Podcast) Jan 15, 2025

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Movement disorder specialist, lifestyle medicine physician and MJFF Principal Medical Advisor Rachel Dolhun, MD, DipABLM, answers community questions on Parkinson’s and exercise with physical therapist and rehab scientist Cristina Colón-Semenza, PhD.

Listen to the audio or watch the video.

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Parkinson’s Care Partners: Not Another “Self-Care” Discussion (Webinar Audio) Jan 08, 2025

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Being a care partner to someone with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be a shifting and complex role, as symptoms and life circumstances change. And sometimes, this can lead to stress and even burnout for the care partner. Tune into audio from this Third Thursdays Webinar to hear expert panelists discuss how to navigate care partnership, including everyday strategies to de-stress and find supportive community.

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The Role of Diet and Nutrition in Parkinson’s Disease and Brain Health with Puja Agarwal Dec 31, 2024

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It is widely known that a healthy diet can provide essential nutrients and lead to a multitude of benefits, but growing evidence has highlighted important links between diet, nutrition, and brain health, particularly related to neurodegenerative disease. In this episode, Dr. Puja Agarwal discusses her research investigating the role that diet and nutrition may play in Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Evidence from her studies and the work of others suggests that certain diets, including the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet, are associated with brain health and may have the potential to delay the onset or slow progression of Parkinson's disease or other neurodegenerative conditions. We hear more about her ongoing MJFF-funded research project examining the role of diet in the progression of parkinsonian signs and its association with Lewy body pathologies, as well as future directions for this exciting line of research. Puja is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Rush University.

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This podcast episode was part of a limited series created by The Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2023 and 2024 for clinicians and researchers in our audience. These episodes provide a deeper dive into exciting new scientific research in Parkinson’s disease, as well as innovative tools and valuable resources, through conversations with a variety of experts in the field. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Developing a Novel App to Improve Speech Intelligibility in Parkinson's Disease with Gemma Moya-Galé Dec 17, 2024

Show notes

Parkinson's disease significantly impacts various aspects of communication, and this can make it challenging for people with the disease to communicate effectively, be understood by others, and engage in social situations. Dr. Gemma Moya-Galé joins this episode to talk about her work on voice and communication in people with Parkinson’s disease. In particular, she discusses a novel app she and her team are developing, with funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation, to help people with Parkinson’s improve how well their speech is understood. The app uses evidence-based principles from speech therapy and noise-augmented automatic speech recognition to provide speech training and feedback. She also shares her recent research on linguistically and culturally responsive methods for addressing communication challenges in both English- and Spanish-speaking individuals with Parkinson's disease, and how this approach has the potential to improve clinical care. Gemma is an Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, as well as the Director of the Communication, Technology, and Language Diversity Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University.

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MJFF Scientists Share How Their Work Could Transform Parkinson's Care Dec 11, 2024

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Understanding the biology of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and turning that knowledge into better treatments is a complex undertaking. In this episode of the award-winning Parkinson’s Science POV series, scientists at The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) discuss how they are tackling this problem from every angle. Whether it’s using cutting-edge imaging to get a picture of the disease in the brain or working with the community to develop better options to treat walking difficulties, our researchers are collaborating to discover the next wave of treatment options and close in on a cure.

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Watch our webinar or read our Year in Review at michaeljfox.org.

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Increasing Diversity in Research and Addressing Brain Health Inequities with Monica Rivera-Mindt Dec 03, 2024

Show notes

Certain populations are disproportionately affected by neurological diseases, including Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases. A lot of work remains to be done to improve brain health outcomes and promote healthy brain aging across the lifespan, particularly for minoritized, underrepresented populations. Including participants from diverse backgrounds in research helps ensure that the results from studies and clinical trials in the field are valid, generalizable, and representative of all individuals affected by these diseases.

In this episode, Dr. Monica Rivera-Mindt discusses brain health inequities in neurodegenerative diseases, her work using culturally informed community-engaged research methods to improve representation in research studies, important gaps in the literature, lessons learned from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Diversity Task Force that could be applied in Parkinson's disease research, and more. Monica is Professor of Psychology, Latinx studies, and African and African American studies at Fordham University, and she has a joint appointment as Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is also a board-certified neuropsychologist.

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Year of Momentum: What Parkinson’s Research Accomplished in 2024 (Webinar Audio) Nov 27, 2024

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With two new drugs approved by the FDA, a National Plan signed into law and many advances in our understanding of Parkinson’s disease, 2024 has been a transformative year in Parkinson’s research. Tune into audio from this month’s Third Thursdays Webinar to hear research experts from industry and academia talk with MJFF staff about the latest research on disease biology and emerging therapies.

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The Development and Application of the Alpha-Synuclein Seed Amplification Assay with Claudio Soto Nov 19, 2024

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Alpha-synuclein plays a key role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease, and researchers have been investigating this protein as a therapeutic target and also as a potential biomarker for the disease. The alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay, developed by Dr. Claudio Soto and colleagues, leverages the self-replicating nature of the misfolded alpha-synuclein proteins that form aggregates in Parkinson's disease. Amplifying misfolded alpha-synuclein can allow researchers and clinicians to detect the presence of the pathological form of the protein in biospecimens, even when the amount of misfolded alpha-synuclein in a sample is very low. In this episode, Claudio discusses his work in this area and how it has opened the doors for a variety of potential uses of the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay, including applications in diagnosis, clinical trials, and drug development for Parkinson's disease.

This year, Claudio received the 2024 Robert A. Pritzker Prize for Leadership in Parkinson’s Research for his substantial contributions to research and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists in the field. Claudio is the Huffington’s Distinguished University Chair, Professor of Neurology, and Director of the George and Cynthia Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston. He is also the Founder, Vice-President, and Chief Scientific Officer at AMPRION Inc.

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Ask Us Anything About Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Day Nov 13, 2024

Show notes

Each person living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) will have a unique journey with their treatments, including the decision to have deep brain stimulation (DBS), which is a surgical procedure to treat Parkinson’s motor symptoms. While DBS isn’t suitable for everyone, it can be helpful in the right person, and it’s a complex, lifelong choice. And although the experience goes far beyond surgery day, brain surgery often looms large in people’s minds as they are contemplating DBS. In this episode, our expert panelists tackle community-sourced questions on DBS surgery day: what to wear, how loved ones can support, what it feels like to be awake during brain surgery and more. Tune in to hear from two people who have had DBS, a neurosurgeon and a movement disorder specialist and learn more about the realities of surgery day.

For more information on deep brain stimulation, download our newly updated, comprehensive guide or check out our webinar at michaeljfox.org.

Like our podcasts? Please consider leaving a rating or review and sharing the series with your community: https://apple.co/3p02Jw0

The Foundation’s landmark study, the Parkinson’s Progression Marker’s Initiative, also known as PPMI, is recruiting volunteers. People from all backgrounds with and without Parkinson’s can help move research forward. Join the study that’s changing everything at michaeljfox.org/podcast-ppmi.

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