We are delighted to share with you our latest recording "A new Parkinson's test- hope or hype?" a webinar on the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (αSyn-SAA), presented by the M J Fox Foundation as a significant breakthrough in the search for a Parkinson's biomarker.

With the growing interest surrounding αSyn-SAA, it’s crucial for patients and their families to understand both its potential benefits and limitations.

About the Speaker:-

Dr. Alberto Espay is Professor and Endowed Chair of the James and Joan Gardner Center for Parkinson's Disease at the University of Cincinnati.

He has published over 300 research articles and 8 books, including Common Movement Disorders Pitfalls, which received the Highly Commended BMA Medical Book Award in 2013 and Brain Fables, the Hidden History of Neurodegenerative Diseases and a Blueprint to Conquer them, co-authored with Parkinson's patient and advocate Benjamin Stecher, selected by the Association of American Publishers for the PROSE Award honouring the best scholarly work in Neuroscience published in 2020.

With colleagues at the University of Cincinnati, he recently launched the first biomarker study of aging (CCBPstudy.com), designed to match people with neurodegenerative disorders to available therapies from which they are most biologically suitable to benefit, regardless of their clinical diagnoses.

Join us for a deep dive into the sleep challenges faced by Parkinson's patients and the potential solutions with Prof S Overeem!

Prof. Overeem is a distinguished clinical somnologist and sleep researcher renowned for his expertise in sleep medicine (he was recommended to us by Prof. Bas Bloem). He practices at the Center for Sleep Medicine Kempenhaeghe in the Netherlands, a leading institution dedicated to diagnosing and treating sleep disorders. His clinical focus encompasses a wide range of somnological conditions, with particular interests in narcolepsy, hypersomnias, parasomnias, and sleep disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease.

In 2015, he became a senior researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology where he established a pioneering research program aimed at developing innovative diagnostic methods for sleep and its related disorders. He was appointed full professor in June 2017, solidifying his role as a leader in the field.

Outside of his professional pursuits, Prof. Overeem enjoys exploring the depths of the ocean and the expanses of the sky, indulging his passions as an avid scuba diver and private pilot.

We are delighted to share with you our presentation by Dr. Rafael Maldonado, and expert on Mucuna, seen by a growing number of PwP as a credible support for Pharmaceutical Levodopa and potentially an alternative for some. 

Remember, you must consult with your own Medical team before changing or starting any new medication of any type.

Dr. Rafael González is a renowned neurologist in Granada with more than four decades of medical experience. He is a renowned specialist who combines clinical practice with teaching as an associate professor at the University of Granada. His extensive training includes an Honorary Research Fellow at the Royal Free Hospital in London and a PhD in Medicine from the University of Granada. He is an expert in Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, headaches, memory loss, epilepsy, stroke and gait disorders.

During his extensive and successful professional career, Dr Prof. González Maldonado has treated numerous patients in prestigious medical centres and hospitals. In addition, he is the author of various books on neurological pathologies such as Parkinson's, as well as numerous essays and other medical publications. In 2017, he was the winner of the Top Doctors Awards, which rewards the most valued medical professionals in the private sector.

Currently, he works as a neurologist in a private Neurology practice in Granada, the Neuroconsulta Clinic. In addition, it also serves patients from all over the world thanks to online consultations

Dr Simon Stott gives us his inciteful annual review of the main PD research takeaways from 2024 and the research results he will be looking for in 2025.

Dr Stott is the Director of Research at Cure Parkinson's. The trust is an international supporter of both lab- and clinic-based research on Parkinson's and aims to find treatments that will slow, halt or reverse the condition.

Originally from New Zealand, Simon has more than 20 years of experience in the field of Parkinson's research - in both the academic and biotech sectors. He has been involved in lab-based research as well as clinical studies.

He also maintains the 'Science of Parkinson's' website (www.scienceofparkinsons.com), which attempts to explain in plain English the research currently being conducted on Parkinson's.

Cure Parkinson's trust:-
https://cureparkinsons.org.uk/

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Dr Dorsey is one of the World's leading experts on PD and delivers his expertise in a very refreshing direct no nonsense way.

Dr Ray Dorsey is a professor of neurology and director of the Center for Human Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is working to identify and eliminate the root causes of Parkinson's disease. 

He is co-author of the book, "Ending Parkinson's Disease" in which he, Bas Bloem, Michael Okun and Todd Sherer lay out a plan to help prevent Parkinson's and improve care and treatment.

He has just announced the publication of "The Parkinson's Plan" co written with Dr. Michael Okun and available for pre order, just email  [email protected] for a link

Dr. Dorsey is investigating new treatments for movement disorders and is working on ways to improve the way care is delivered for individuals with Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders. Using simple web-based video conferencing, he and his colleagues are seeking to provide care to individuals with Parkinson's disease.

It’s time to reframe our thinking and take a new approach to Parkinson's disease!

 Despite 200+ years of effort, we do not have a system to predict, prevent, halt, or reverse Parkinson’s. 

Dr Mischley explores the notion that the problem lies in the lens through which we’ve been viewing it, the approaches we’ve been taking, and the assumptions we’ve been making.

Provider bias: Dopamine has been a distraction and obstacle for disease-modification research. Subjective measures are better in early PD.
Industry bias.
Floor effects for crude measurement systems: Phase 3 studies keep failing because the tools we’ve been using to determine severity aren’t sensitive in newly-diagnosed people in disease-modification research studies. Study designs are flawed. People that enroll in studies probably not same as global population.
Providers’ opinion that Parkinson’s is “irreversible and progressive” is outdated and contributes to the problem.
"What works” and “what providers know how to teach” and “what insurance will pay for” are often not aligned.
The systems - and access to the systems - play a role in determining outcomes.
We already have tools to make Parkinson’s preventable and reversible that we’re not using.
This revised patient-centered, evidence-based pragmatic paradigm will include education, symptom tracking, goal-setting, counseling, laboratory tests to screen for nutritional deficiencies, counseling regarding diet, daily physical activity, social health, and strategies to encourage financial stability.

About the speaker:-

Dr. Laurie Mischley, ND PhD MPH studied naturopathic medicine (ND) at Bastyr University and epidemiology (MPH) and nutritional sciences (PhD) at the University of Washington and she maintains appointments at both Universities. Her work is focused on identifying the nutritional requirements unique to individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and has published on coenzyme Q10, lithium, NAD+, and glutathione deficiency (www.lauriemischley.com). 

She is Principal Investigator of the Modifiable Variables in Parkinsonism (MVP) Study (https://mvp-study.com/), which is attempting to describe why some people with PD progress slower than others. 

She is working on ways to study, package and deliver evidence-based lifestyle modification as a therapeutic strategy. 

She founded:-
The Parkinson Center for Pragmatic Research (https://parkinson-cpr.com/) The Canine scent-based PD screening tool, ParK-9 (https://park-9.com/), 
Developed a patient-reported outcome measure to assess PD severity (https://pd-symptoms.com/), built the Parkinson Symptom Tracking (PRO-PD) App, which is available free on iSO or Android

Is instructor of the online series, Parkinson School (https://www.parkinson-school.com/) for which she has kindly given our No Silver Bullet community  free access for a limited time using the code NOSILVERBULLET

Dr Roberto Cilia spoke to us on the topic of  "Mucuna Pruriens and the future of Parkinson's care in low income countries"

There is much discussion by PwP as to the benefits of using this "natural " form of Levadopa as an alternative or in addition to prescribed Levadopa so it is very interesting to hear this presentation and the answers to the very high number of questions in the Q&A that follows it.

Roberto's main focus is on using mucuna to treat Parkinson's patients in countries where levodopa is either not available or not affordable. This is a great opportunity to learn about this important legume!

Dr. Roberto Cilia is a renowned movement disorder specialist based in Milan, Italy. With extensive experience in neurology, he has dedicated his career to improving the lives of patients suffering from Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.

We are delighted to be able to share with you our latest interview with 
Dr Filip Scheperjans who shared with us his fantastic work on "The importance of the gut-brain axis in Parkinson's" which was followed by an excellent Q & A session. 

More about our expert:-

Dr. Filip Scheperjans is a leading expert in neurology, specialising in treating Parkinson’s disease and focusing on advanced methods and gastrointestinal symptoms.

He earned his Licentiate of Medicine from the University of Düsseldorf in 2006 and completed his Neurology specialisation at the University of Helsinki in 2013. In 2008, he received his Doctor of Medical Science, focusing on neuroanatomy, and became Associate Professor in 2020 at the University of Helsinki.

Dr. Scheperjans investigates the relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and the microbiome in Parkinson’s disease, exploring novel treatment strategies. His work includes advanced therapies like drug infusions and deep-brain stimulation, supported by major organisations such as the Academy of Finland and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Prof Sonia Gandhi joined us to share her expertise on how Mitochondria affects PD with an excellent presentation followed by a very probing Q&A by our well informed audience.

Prof Gandhi is a leading expert in the process of protein misfolding, in which smaller proteins, monomers, join together to form larger proteins, oligomers, and how this process may drive organellar dysfunction and cell toxicity in neurodegeneration.

Sonia obtained a BA in Neuroscience at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, in 1996, and completed her degree in Medicine at New College, University of Oxford, in 1999. She trained in postgraduate medicine at the Hammersmith Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Whittington Hospital. 
Sonia was awarded a Wellcome Clinical Research Training Fellowship to complete a PhD in Neuroscience at UCL Institute of Neurology in 2004. In 2007, she trained as a Specialist registrar in Neurology, and took up an NIHR Lectureship in Neurology at Imperial College in 2009. In 2012 she was awarded a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellowship, and established her laboratory at the UCL Institute of Neurology in October 2013. She was awarded a laboratory secondment to the Francis Crick Institute in 2016

We had the pleasure of a presentation by Dr Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, MD, on the topic of "Why I am optimistic that we might now have a Silver Bullet for Parkinson's", followed by a Q&A session of almost 50 probing questions from our audience.

Dr. Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein is transforming the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). First, he discovered that the brain cells (dopaminergic neurons) in Parkinson’s patients are exposed to excess dopamine, reaching toxic levels. Next, he identified a drug that reverses disease pathology by reducing dopamine levels in 10 studies using laboratory models of PD

As an academic physician, Sackner-Bernstein leverages lessons learned at the US Food and Drug Administration (where he received 2 Commission’s Awards) and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (in a central role for the launch of the US Biological Technologies Office with its initial focus on neurotechnology).

Jonathan’s history of identifying contrarian views is remarkable for consistently being proven correct by subsequent studies and analyses. His optimism that PD will be conquered by reducing dopamine is supported by scientific data. And this drug therapy is poised to enter Phase 2 clinical trials, with data as soon as 6 months following trial launch.

More about the speaker:-

Dr Sackner-Bernstein is soon to launch a Blog to provide updates so please register here https://www.parkinsonsdisease.blog/

A new website has also been launched by Dr Sackner-Bernstein on which you will see his distinguished team including two of our previous speakers, Prof Roger Barker who spoke o Cell replacement therapy and Dr Lorraine Kalia more recently sharing her expertise on Drug replacement so take moment to watch those recordings here on our channel or listen to them on Spotify

https://www.rightbrainbio.com/