This post is purely meant to be educational and provide resources for mental health awareness and maintenance. If you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call 911 in an emergency or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to speak to a crisis counselor.   Why Talk About Mental Health?  Mental health challenges are common for people living with Parkinson’s. In fact, depressive symptoms are often the first non-motor symptoms people experience on the road to a Parkinson’s diagnosis. As many as 35-40% of people with Parkinson’s report that they experience anxiety and depre ..read more

Parkinson’s influences sexual health and relationships in myriad ways, and the topic can be uncomfortable to discuss. Join us for this episode of The Parkinson’s Podcast: Unfiltered, wherein co-hosts Heather and Kat dive into some of the ways Parkinson’s influences sexual health, intimacy, and relationships. As always, no topic is off the table. Sit back and enjoy as your hosts discuss arousal, self-image, dating with Parkinson’s, and much more!   Want more Parkinson’s Podcast? Visit the Parkinson’s Podcast archive on our website. LISTEN TO THE EPISODE The audio-only version of this po ..read more

En la Davis Phinney Foundation tenemos la misión de ayudar a las personas con Parkinson a Vivir Bien Hoy. Con esta serie de testimonios, titulada Momentos Victoriosos, queremos compartir y celebrar las historias de personas con Parkinson que sean fuente de inspiración y esperanza para nuestra comunidad de habla hispana. Hoy nos complace compartir un nuevo Momento Victorioso presentando la historia de María Eugenia Jiménez, desde Pachuca, México. ¿Cómo ha sido su vida desde que le diagnosticaron Parkinson? Después de buscar durante varios meses en hospitales nacionales un diagnóstico, por fi ..read more

Written by the Davis Phinney Foundation’s Community Engagement Team  May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and in this month’s HPC Leader Highlight, we feature Doug Reid: a Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassador who lives with young onset Parkinson’s (YOPD) and who has navigated mental health challenges as part of his journey with Parkinson’s. MEET DOUG REID As a Colorado-based Ambassador, Doug is a familiar and friendly presence in our office in Louisville, CO. Doug is always willing to help as a volunteer from stuffing envelopes for mailings and serving as a panelist on our Living with Par ..read more

More news about GLP1 receptor agonists–the same class of drug as Ozempic–and Parkinson’s. AI’s role in accelerating treatments. Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s “fingerprints.” New pesticides-and-Parkinson’s discoveries. Here’s what’s new in the world of Parkinson’s this month. SCIENCE AND RESEARCH NEWS PARKINSON’S PATHOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS A new hypothesis paper published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease examines how both “brain-first” and “body-first” models of Parkinson’s may be tied to environmental toxins. Parkinson’s expert Ray Dorsey, MD, who co-authored the paper, says this hypothes ..read more

En este seminario web compuesto de cuatro episodios no sólo abordamos las características generales de la terapia física aplicada al Parkinson y sus beneficios más importantes, sino también hablamos de los retos que para muchas personas presentan acceder a terapia física específica para su condición de Parkinson. Además, en los episodios 3 y 4, hablamos de cómo la investigación clínica y las nuevas tecnologías se están aplicando a la terapia física en el Parkinson, cambiando de forma positiva la forma en que se entiende y se practica la terapia física con personas viviendo con la condición ..read more

Ozempic, Wegovy, and Parkinson’s. AI’s role in accelerating treatments. Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s “fingerprints.” New pesticides-and-Parkinson’s discoveries. Here’s what’s new in the world of Parkinson’s this month. SCIENCE AND RESEARCH NEWS PARKINSON’S PATHOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS A new hypothesis paper published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease examines how both “brain-first” and “body-first” models of Parkinson’s may be tied to environmental toxins. Parkinson’s expert Ray Dorsey, MD, who co-authored the paper, says this hypothesis proposes that Parkinson’s is a systemic condition and ..read more

Parkinson’s can influence gait in a variety of ways: Your arms may swing less when you walk, your steps may become smaller, and you may experience freezing of gait. Critically, while levodopa and other standard Parkinson’s medications help some people with their gait issues, not all gait disruptions respond to available medications. In fact, some people find that their gait actually worsens when they are in an ON state. These issues are part of what inspired Sidney Collin, co-founder of De Oro Devices, to invent NexStride: a device that attaches to a cane, walker, or other assistive device ..read more

During our April Living with Parkinson’s Meetup, the panelists discussed how they continue to take action and communicate well while living with the many challenges of Parkinson’s. They panelists celebrated former Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassador, Living Well With Parkinson’s Meetup panelist, and longtime friend of the Foundation Tom Palizzi, who passed away in early April. Special thanks to Amy Carlson, Heather Kennedy, Lorraine Wilson, and Marty Acevedo who joined our regular panelists to share memories of Tom. Read on for a summary of the conversation and to access a recording of the m ..read more

We are thrilled to release the first episode of a new podcast series: The Parkinson’s Podcast Unfiltered. In the first episode, hosts Heather Kennedy and Kat Hill discuss stigma; the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and others; and how often these stories are misguided, misleading, or simply untrue. Heather and Kat approach these subjects with their characteristic care, candor, thoughtfulness, and humor. Keep your eyes peeled future episodes of this series, which we plan to release every other week. To receive updates about release dates, follow us on your favorite podcast app, or s ..read more