Welcome to the first edition of e-ParkinsonPost for 2011.
April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Throughout April, our 10 regional partners have scheduled a variety of events in communities across Canada – tulip sales, concerts, breakfasts, wing nights, scrabble tournaments, art shows, educational workshops and more. Visit www.parkinson.ca, to find out what is happening in your area. Catch the energy. Get involved.
One way to get involved is to sign the Global Parkinson’s Pledge to make Parkinson’s a health, research, social and economic priority around the world. As we mentioned in a previous issue, Canada will host the World Parkinson Congress in Montreal in 2013. This is the only global Parkinson’s conference that brings together the entire Parkinson’s community. In preparation for this exciting event, and as the hosts for 2013, we invite you to show your support, as Canadians and as people who care deeply about finding a cure, finding new hope and making life better for those who live with Parkinson’s every day. Sign the pledge at www.parkinson.ca.
Also in this issue of e-ParkinsonPost, we share with you some of the articles we have submitted to the associations for those allied health professionals who work with people with Parkinson’s:
- the effect of cognitive changes on communication in Parkinson`s (Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists)
- how occupational therapy can assist in Parkinson’s (Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists)
- what physiotherapists need to know about communicating with clients with Parkinson’s (Canadian Physiotherapy Association)
- palliative care in Parkinson’s (Hospital News)
You will also find information on ‘Get it on time’, a new program we are launching to educate healthcare professionals about adhering to Parkinson’s medication schedules. Read about one of our 13 funded women researchers as she describes what attracted her to neuroscience. We also profile adventurous women who recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and walked the Camino while raising funds for Parkinson’s.
Online registration is now open for Parkinson SuperWalk 2011 at www.parkinsonsuperwalk.ca.
We also announce the details for this year’s Donald Calne Lecture, highlight Parkinson Society Canada’s participation in Canada’s first-ever National Brain Awareness Month and bring you up-to-date on our research competitions.
We want to hear from you. . . New this issue is a Comments section where you can let us know if you like what you have read or if you have other comments. Your questions, thoughts and ideas for future issues are always welcome.
Finally I want to thank EMD Serono for their support of e-ParkinsonPost which makes producing this e-publication possible.
We hope you enjoy this issue.
Marjie Zacks
Editor