In 2010, Steve Van Vlaenderen realized his lifelong dream of buying a sailboat. A year later, Steve was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and he was devastated. Doctors told him the sailboat was not a good idea, due to balance issues and other problems brought on by the disease. His diagnosis made him feel defeated, robbed, … Read more

Whenever we make a decision, pay attention to a detail, or use our working memory, our pupils change size. That’s because pupil size reflects activities occurring in our brain. At Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, PhD candidate Po Yueh (Jeff) Huang and his colleagues in the laboratory of Dr. Douglas Munoz measure the relationship between … Read more

A protein called alpha-synuclein, which accumulates in clumps in the brain cells of people with Parkinson’s disease, has long been the target of researchers investigating the causes of this degenerative illness. The way alpha-synuclein interacts with other proteins is thought to be the key to how Parkinson’s progresses. At Laval University, Associate Professor Martin Lévesque … Read more

This September, families, friends and volunteers across the country will come together to show that nothing stands in Canada’s way as we walk together on the path to a world without Parkinson’s – No Matter What. The movement has grown over several decades to more than 80 locations and thousands of participants. That’s why Parkinson … Read more

September 2019 Join our movement of more than 80 communities and 10,000 participants across Canada. Parkinson Canada SuperWalk takes place each September. Across the country, walkers, donors and volunteers band together to show one another they are not alone in standing up to Parkinson’s. Since 1990, walkers have raised more than $38 Million (including $2.35 Million in … Read more

In our third year as Parkinson Canada we continue to advance the bold vision set by our Board of Directors. Our fundraising efforts continue to yield great results and the important work we do to help thousands of Canadians living with Parkinson’s across the country would not be possible without our generous donors. Your support … Read more

At a specialized laboratory in the Baylor College of Medicine, postdoctoral associate Paul Marcogliese is studying a malfunction in multiple genetic models of Parkinson’s disease in fruit flies. In addition to indicating genetic abnormalities that could indicate an individual’s prospects of developing this condition, the work could reveal targets for potential drug treatments to correct … Read more

Research into the causes of Parkinson’s disease increasingly focuses on the interaction among proteins in brain cells. At McGill University, PhD candidate Marisa Cressatti studies the interaction between two proteins, called alpha-synuclein and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). If she discovers that HO-1 can accelerate the spread and accumulation of alpha-synuclein, the protein found in clumps in the … Read more