Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Ramon A. Gil, M.D., Medical Director, Parkinson’s Disease Treatment Center of SWFL
Dear Friends:
Welcome to a new year of progress and innovation in the field of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Advances in PD research are not limited to the availability of new and better drugs, but also to a better understanding of the disease process. This understanding leads us to better targeted treatments for the disease and its complications, as well as new diagnostic tools to facilitate diagnosis when it is not clear. PD is presently “the fastest growing brain disorder, even faster than Alzheimer’s” (Dorsey, R. et al. “A Prescription for Action. Ending PD”). The number of Americans with PD has increased by 35% in the last 10 years alone.
As the oldest medical organization in SW FL committed to promoting education and empowerment of PD patients and their family members, Parkinson’s Disease Treatment Center of SWFL, in association with the Charlotte County Medical Society, is proud to present the 2022 PD Symposium. This year we are taking a multi-specialty clinic approach, one in which you will enjoy presentations from different specialists all involved in the evaluation and treatment of patients like you. Knowledge is the best remedy for fear, and we will make sure to educate you in areas that could negatively impact your quality of life if they are not properly addressed.
I will have the pleasure of opening the program with a presentation to help you personally judge whether your case of PD is optimally treated or controlled. Knowing that there are no two identical patients with PD, you need to understand what the medications do and what is available today to optimize your treatment. We will review clinical vignettes to illustrate the challenges you face and their available solutions.
Following a visit to the neurologist, you will attend a presentation by Dr. Manuel Hernandez. He is a Board-Certified Dermatologist and Fellowship Trained Mohs Surgeon who will review skin cancer, particularly melanoma, which is seen seven times more often in PD patients compared with non-PD individuals. He will teach you how to recognize these spots on your skin and how to reduce the risk of developing this potentially fatal form of cancer. Melanoma is one of the likeliest forms of cancer to spread to the brain, only lung and breast have higher percentages of spread.
The third presentation is about sleep disorders in PD. Ever since James Parkinson described this condition in 1817 and named it “Shaking Palsy”, sleep disturbances have been reported as part of PD. These problems often impair your quality of life in ways never considered before. Until 20 years ago, we were not fully aware that the non-motor symptoms of PD, including sleep disturbances, are often more disabling than the motor-symptoms. Dr. Ernesto Eusebio, a sleep medicine specialist practicing in Lee County, will educate you about sleep hygiene and sleep apnea in the context of PD. Here we hope to help you improve your sleep patterns, allowing you to feel stronger and more energetic during the day. It is important to mention that untreated sleep apnea will increase the chances of developing dementia in PD and non-PD patients alike.
After a coffee break, we will bring you to a dental office. Yes, a visit to the dentist! You have all heard about the gut-brain axis and the research suggesting that PD starts in the intestines. Well, your mouth is a very important part of your digestive system, and you need to take very good care of it, especially if you have PD. Dr. Jose Gil will discuss dental habits that can prevent significant and needless complications over time. He will also present important information regarding new data supporting the association between dental health and dementia. Dr. Gil practices dentistry in the Lehigh Valley, PA.
Our last presentation is by Dr. Philip Tipton, Movement Disorder Neurologist and faculty member of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Dr. Tipton will review the latest surgical options (Deep Brain Stimulation) as part of treatment for PD. Learn why and when you should consider surgical intervention. Dr. Tipton will explain why it does not make any sense to wait until all other options have been exhausted before considering DBS.
We will conclude the afternoon with a session of open Q & A.
We hope you will all join us. Please register now! As in previous years, seating is limited and we anticipate a full house.
Agenda
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
On Site Registration and Lunch
12:30 pm – 12:45 pm
Welcome and Opening Remarks
– Ramon A. Gil, M.D.
12:45 pm – 1:30 pm
Is Your Parkinson’s Disease Optimally Treated?
– Ramon A. Gil, M.D.
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
Skin Cancer and Parkinson’s Disease
– Manuel Hernandez, M.D.
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
Parkinson’s Disease, Sleep Hygiene
and Sleep Apnea
– Ernesto Eusebio, M.D.
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Break
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm
Dental Care in Parkinson’s Disease
– Jose Gil, D.M.D.
4:15 pm – 5:00 pm
Deep Brain Stimulation: who, when and why?
– Philip Tipton, M.D.
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Questions & Answers.
– Faculty
5:30 pm Adjourn
For more info or to register
contact Jennifer at Dr. Gil’s Office:
Phone (941) 743-4987
Fax (941) 743-4486
office@parkinsonsfl.com
