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Move More! - December 2019
A quarterly newsletter from the Duke Movement Disorders Clinic
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 Chief's Corner
In this season of thankfulness and giving, the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Division reflects on the remarkable support and collaboration we have with our patients and families. Your support motivates us and helps us launch growth in new directions. It is truly our honor to be a part of your care team. We are also thankful to work with so many amazing interdisciplinary providers – physicians, clinical social workers, occupational therapists, physician assistants, nursing staff, physical therapists, speech therapists, and our pharmacist – all right here at Morreene Road Neurology! This summer, we reached a milestone in achieving our visions of excellence by launching a truly interdisciplinary clinic – the Parkinson’s Disease Benchmark Clinic. The Division has also made exciting progress in all of our missions across care, training and research. Read more.
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 Top 3 Listening Tour - We heard you!
Thanks to all of you that participated in our survey. We were glad to learn about what we do well, and are even more excited to hear your suggestions about where to focus new energy. We heard that many of you wanted greater access to participate in clinical research trials. So, we developed a new set of Clinical Trials Interest Surveys to see if you are a candidate for clinical trials. We hope that you find it handy and welcome your feedback. Check them out here.
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 From the PF and HDSA Centers of Excellence Coordinators
Allison Allen, LCSW and Anne Kosem, LCSW
One of the most common questions we are asked is, “How am I doing with my Parkinson’s disease?” To help people better understand where they are and what more they can do, this summer we kicked off our Parkinson’s Disease Benchmark Clinic.This is truly an interdisciplinary team venture and we have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback from you! Read more.
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 Staff Spotlight: Elizabeth Nixon, DPT, NCS
As a high school student, Elizabeth Nixon suffered an injury that kept her from her beloved ballet--until a physical therapist was able to help her recover in time for a big performance. The help Nixon received inspired her to become a physical therapist herself. Now, she works with patients with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders to improve their walking, physical activity, risk for falls. and more. Nixon talks to us about helping patients in and out of the water, how physical therapy can help patients with movement disorders, and traveling and enjoying time with friends outside of Duke. Read more.
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 Featured Research: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Parkinson's
Stress and anxiety are common concerns for people with Parkinson disease (PD) and their care-partners. Stress can worsen parkinsonian symptoms as well as care-partner burden, leading to declines in quality of life for people with PD and their care-partners. While some forms of stress and anxiety may improve with medication adjustments, there are also non-pharmacological approaches to managing stress, including mindfulness-based stress reduction, a structured curriculum which guides participants to become more present in the moment. Read more. |
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 Research Updates
Research updates from our division include a grant of over $2.5 million to support a partnership between Duke and NIH to find novel drug treatments for dystonia led by Nicole Calakos, the Duke MoveMore team presenting at the American Neurological Association annual meeting in St Louis, and a "Meet and Greet" event that brought together researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders to learn from each other, strengthen connections, and form new teams to more effectively tackle these diseases. Read more.
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 Your gift to the Movement Disorders Program Gift Fund will allow us to provide better care to those affected by movement disorders, investigate and refine new therapies, and train the next generation of movement disorders specialists. Make a gift today.
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Support groups for PD and HD, Loud and Proud, Care Partner Summit, and more coming in 2020
In 2020 we will continue offering community support groups for those impacted by Parkinson’s disease - the Durham PD Support Group and Loud and Proud, and an additional group for those impacted by Huntington’s disease. We are excited that our HD group will now be offered bi-monthly. Check out our events for those affected by Parkinson's and Huntington's disease here.
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