December is the time to gather with friends and family and celebrate the holiday season. At The Parkinson Alliance, this December also marks the one year passing of our beloved co-founder, Margaret. As we look back on this year, we take pride in having carried on Margaret’s goals for the Alliance. Margaret devoted herself to educating the Parkinson’s community about anything that may improve the quality of life and to raising money to fund Parkinson’s research. These core principles remain at the heart of The Parkinson Alliance. Under the leadership of our President and CEO, Carol Walton, the ..read more

On Tuesday, October 24th, The Parkinson Alliance held its 3rd annual Food, Wine & Maybe Tuscany event in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.  While enjoying an evening of food and wine, attendees were also treated to an inspiring talk by guest speaker, Bret Parker. Bret is a 51 year old attorney who is currently the Executive Director of the New York City Bar Association.  He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 38.  Initially he kept the diagnosis, which he thought to be some sort of carpal tunnel issue, to himself.  He wrestled within.  On the one hand, he didn’t want potential pity or prejudic ..read more

Dyskinesias are uncontrollable involuntary movements that are different from tremors. For people with Parkinson’s, it is a common experience that for some can be mild while for others can routinely negatively impact daily functions such as speech, chewing, swallowing, dressing, handwriting and other quality of life issues. The Parkinson Alliance, in its latest patient survey, addressed dyskinesias. The objectives of the survey were threefold — to learn about dyskinesias’ impact on daily function; to understand the relationship between dyskinesias, emotional well-being, and quality of life; an ..read more

Edna and John Ball John Ball, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s over 30 years ago, has a favorite saying: “You can’t make a difference if you don’t show up.” This year marked the fifth time that he (and the third time for his wife, Edna) showed up and represented Team Parkinson at the World Parkinson Congress (WPC), this year held in Kyoto, Japan. The conference showcases a wide spectrum of developments affecting the Parkinson’s community. I recently talked with Edna about their experience, starting with their 12 1/2 hour flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Osaka Kansai Airport ..read more

Last year Dr. Jill Farmer, a neurologist and movement-disorder specialist, gave a lecture on medical marijuana (MM) and how it may treat some Parkinson’s Disease (PD) symptoms. She also prescribed it to Margaret. In NJ, to obtain MM a physician must certify that you have a “qualifying debilitating condition.” While the NJ law currently does not include Parkinson’s disease as a qualifying condition, chronic pain and migraines, which Margaret suffered from, are. After getting her prescription, Margaret asked if I would pick up the MM for her. While the request sounds easy enough, having a prescr ..read more