Dr. Victoria Holiday of UofL Health joins NPI CEO Eric Richardson and VP Erika Ganong to discuss her role in providing the physician's perspective on the Parkinson's Buddy Program, which pairs first-year medical students with a person living with Parkinson's disease. She emphasized that the program's real value isn't steering students toward neurology; it's teaching any future physician what it means to care for someone with a chronic disease they can't cure.

The conversation also covered the science of exercise, which made up the bulk of the episode. Dr. Holiday explained that exercise functions as a prescription for Parkinson's disease, improving not only strength and balance but non-motor symptoms like constipation, voice volume, breathing, posture, and cognition. She pointed to a landmark study that followed over 1,000 Parkinson's patients for two years and found that those who exercised 150 minutes a week showed significantly less disease progression, likely due to exercise's anti-inflammatory effects. Her baseline recommendation: three to four days of aerobic activity a week for at least 30 minutes, two to three days of strength training, plus flexibility and neuromotor exercises that combine movement with mental tasks.

Dr. Joseph Neimat from UofL Health joins the podcast to talk about Deep Brain Stimulation and the benefits for Parkinson's, ET, and Dystonia patients. DBS has helped thousands of patients regain their former lives after a movement disorder diagnosis. The potential for this treatment is growing at an accelerated rate and may one day treat conditions like depression.

Thanks for joining us, and enjoy!

Presented by The National Parkinson's Institute, this podcast talks about Parkinson's disease, patient care, research, and what you can do to stay one step ahead. We discuss a variety of topics related to Parkinson's disease, caregiving, medicine, and more with special guests to explain it all to you and help guide you through your Parkinson's journey, so you can make informed decisions for yourself or someone you love.