Parkinson's is a degenerative disease that can majorly impact one's quality of life, and about 60,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year.
There is no cure for Parkinson's; most treatments focus solely on controlling its symptoms. However, one recent breakthrough is making strides toward changing how Parkinson's is treated.
Dr. Roizen talks with Dr. David Eidelberg about how his team of researchers discovered a type of gene therapy that may be able to create new circuits in the brain, improving motor function. This type of treatment actually targets the abnormal circuitry in the brain instead of just minimizing the symptoms.
Not only would this therapy help address the root issue in people with Parkinson's, but it would also help personalize treatment to each individual's brain.
Bonus
Elderberry: The Natural Flu Remedy
Selected Podcast
EP 928B - A Breakthrough in Parkinson's Research
Featuring:
Under his direction, the Eidelberg group has developed innovative computational approaches using imaging to identify specific network biomarkers for a variety of brain disorders ranging from Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s disease to Dystonia, Tourette’s syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder. Disease-related networks are being assayed in individual patients to distinguish between clinically similar “look-a-like” conditions, monitor disease progression, and evaluate new treatments for these disorders.
Dr. Eidelberg received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed his residency in neurology there, followed by postdoctoral training in brain imaging in London and New York. Dr. Eidelberg has authored over 250 peer-reviewed original articles, 100 reviews and editorials, and an edited volume (Imaging in Parkinson’s Disease, Oxford University Press, 2011). He currently serves on the editorial boards of several major journals, and is editor-in-chief (with Professor Jean-Marc Leger) of Current Opinion in Neurology. He is a scientific advisor to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Defense, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia Parkinsonism at Massachusetts General Hospital.
David Eidelberg, MD
David Eidelberg, MD, is the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, and has served as Director of the Center for Neurosciences at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research since its founding in 2001. A neurologist and neuroscientist, he is widely regarded for his pioneering work on network dysfunction in brain disease.Under his direction, the Eidelberg group has developed innovative computational approaches using imaging to identify specific network biomarkers for a variety of brain disorders ranging from Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s disease to Dystonia, Tourette’s syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder. Disease-related networks are being assayed in individual patients to distinguish between clinically similar “look-a-like” conditions, monitor disease progression, and evaluate new treatments for these disorders.
Dr. Eidelberg received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed his residency in neurology there, followed by postdoctoral training in brain imaging in London and New York. Dr. Eidelberg has authored over 250 peer-reviewed original articles, 100 reviews and editorials, and an edited volume (Imaging in Parkinson’s Disease, Oxford University Press, 2011). He currently serves on the editorial boards of several major journals, and is editor-in-chief (with Professor Jean-Marc Leger) of Current Opinion in Neurology. He is a scientific advisor to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Defense, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia Parkinsonism at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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