Hi Cecilia,

 

Here are my replies:

 

• a little about you and how/why you became a PD physician/specialist  

• Your specific approach or method of how you work with people with PD  

• What is it about a patient that makes them successful or not in their battle with PD

• What do you notice, if anything, is the difference between someone who seems to attenuate disease progression (stays in a stage longer) versus someone who progresses faster

• What’s your best advice/message to a person with PD

• Any other comments you feel important

   

   

  I did my medical training at the University of Michigan Medical school and had an early interest in neuroscience research which led me to pursue neurology residency as a specialty. I continued to do research in residency and grew interested in the study of movement physiology and movement disorders. After residency, I did a combined research/clinical fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in movement disorders. I spent several years in general neurology practice and resident teaching before moving to private practice movement disorders 5 years ago. The field of Parkinson's disease is currently a very exciting one, with a wide variety of therapies including medicine and surgery which can dramatically improve patients' lives.

   

  My approach to Parkinson's disease is to adopt a personalized approach tailored to the patient with the combination of medical and surgical techniques to improve symptoms. Patients can also benefit from innovations in wearable monitoring of their motor symptoms and data mining to further refine the treatment of symptoms.

   

  Patients that are successful in their battle with PD are typically well-informed and proactive about learning about their disease and taking charge of their treatment decisions and healthy lifestyles. Many are actively communicating with their community, whether through support groups or online forums to stay informed and share ideas.

   

  The patients who attenuate disease progression seem to live healthy lifestyles with regular exercise, attention to diet and active stress management. Patients who are not as active or have other comorbid conditions including vascular disease tend to progress faster due to additional injury to the cardiovascular or nervous system.

   

  My best advice to a person with Parkinson's disease is to stay motivated and engaged with the community and their doctor. Parkinson's care is a group effort and there are multiple avenues of support and communication to facilitate good care.

   

  My contact info is:

   

  Valley Parkinson Clinic

  800 Pollard Road C30

  Los Gatos, CA 95032

  408-376-0316

   

   

  Best,

   

  Peter