This fall, on October 11th, the Udall Center at the University of Minnesota is hosting a patient-focused symposium. A variety of clinicians and researchers from UMN will present on wearable devices for detecting Parkinson's disease (PD) symptoms, sleep difficulties in PD, and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for PD. Please join us for a morning of cutting edge research, interesting discussions, and refreshments. Friends and family are welcome to join; we look forward to seeing you there! For more information, and to register for this free event, click here.
Man’s Best Friend
When you hear the phrase “service dog,” you probably imagine one helping someone experiencing blindness, diabetes, seizures, or anxiety. Did you know there are service dogs specializing in Parkinson’s disease?
According to the US Service Animals website, PD service dogs are trained to provide support for a range of PD symptoms. For non-motor symptoms of PD, like anxiety and depression, service dogs can provide mood-boosting comfort. For the more severe motor symptoms of PD, service dogs are trained to provide balance support, retrieve items that are out of reach, open doors, perform simple tasks, and even help with dressing or finding help in an emergency. The Parkinson’s Foundation notes that some service dogs are trained to help with freezing episodes! The Michael J Fox Foundation notes that having any pet (not just a service animal) can help incorporate more exercise into your daily life.
If you find yourself experiencing any of the symptoms listed above, please talk to your care provider about them, if you haven’t already. And if you’d like to exercise more without getting a pet, check out the most up-to-date links for MN- and WI-based groups in this newsletter.
Get Connected! The following are ongoing weekly/monthly groups.
The standard way for researchers to disseminate their latest study findings is to publish an article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Scientific journals are usually meant to be read by people specializing in that field and can be difficult for non-scientists to read. However, many non-scientists learn how to read journal articles and enjoy keeping themselves up-to-date on research advances before it might be rewritten in layperson terms in a newspaper or magazine. If you’re interested in reading the latest publications from UMN Parkinson’s researchers, we’ve collected tips for how to read these articles and a list of interesting recent publications on our website.
If you receive care through M Health Fairview and have questions about your clinical care, you may send a message to your medical team via MyChart. If you need immediate assistance, during business hours please call 612-626-6688.
Interested in participating in research? pdresearch@umn.edu Have a resource or upcoming event you would like to share? Email pdresearch@umn.edu
This newsletter is a service of the MnDRIVE DBS Core at the University of Minnesota. If you would like to support Parkinson's Disease Research at the University of Minnesota, you can make donations here!
