ALPENA – Parkinson’s disease is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world, and most people have symptoms for at least a decade before they are finally diagnosed. Historically considered a disorder of movement (slow, stiff, tremor), the non-motor symptoms (irritable bowel syndrome, loss of smell, acting out dreams, anxiety, disrupted sleep, cognitive, sexual, urinary dysfunction) are now recognized as equally problematic.

For much of northern Michigan, seeing a movement-disorder specialist often requires hours of travel, making educational opportunities like this uncommon. Nationally, there are only a few thousand Parkinson’s experts trying to serve the million people who already know they have Parkinson’s, and they tend to be concentrated in metropolitan areas. To reach underserved communities, the Arizona-based organization, PMD Alliance, created its Community Connect program, bringing Parkinson’s experts to underserved communities.

Alpena was nominated by three Parkinson’s experts from Michigan, and on August 1, the PMD Alliance will be hosting a free afternoon workshop at Alpena Community College, Understanding Parkinson’s: What Causes It, How It’s Treated, and What You Can Do.

John L. Goudreau, DO, PhD will cover the science, how people come to have it, why it progresses, and where treatment stands today. Isaac Goldszer, MD will walk through the real-world decisions patients and families face: medications, procedures, and the trade-offs that matter. Alpena native Laurie Mischley, ND, PhD, MPH will focus on the modifiable behaviors that shape progression and improve outcomes over time. As a panel, they will discuss how to optimize care options, how to increase access, followed by a panel discussion on where they see the greatest opportunities to prevent Parkinson’s and improve outcomes after diagnosis.

“In the past five years there have been tremendous advances. We now can track progression and improvement remotely, we have oral medicines and pumps that provide almost continuous coverage for motor symptoms, we have brain surgery that adjusts itself, and a growing list of things that influence a person’s rate of progression,” Mischley says. After following thousands of people with Parkinson’s for over a decade, Mischley recently published a study showing that dietary patterns reported over the previous month were associated with long-term rates of disease progression. In addition to research on food, she has shown symptom severity is associated with social connections, sleep, exercise, and nutritional factors.

Unlike many educational events, this workshop is designed to encourage discussion across specialties, allowing attendees to hear neurologists, lifestyle researchers, and integrative clinicians address questions together.

Participants are encouraged to submit written questions at the door, which the panel will answer throughout the afternoon.

Who should attend: Patients and their families, local health care practitioners, anyone interested in Parkinson’s prevention, and community members with services to provide.

Cost: Free Registration: (800) 256-0966 or info@pmdalliance.org