New Year’s Eve, Mr. Twitchy and I went to the LA Kings Hockey game with friends. At many professional sporting events, there are giveaways of mostly useless team memorabilia. Tuesday night, the giveaway was 2020 glasses, which are just plain impossible to put on. However, like everyone else in the arena, we had to take a selfie while wearing them.
Yes, we looked like total fools, the glasses came off immediatelly after the photo, and we had a great time at the game.
So did the glasses give us 2020 vision for the new year? We won’t know until the end of the year, but lets take a look at what we can look forward to.
There are many reasons to be optimistic about the future with Parkinson’s. There is a lot of research going on in many different directions. Here are just a few of the things that popped up in the Parkinson’s news-sites this week:
- FDA Approves PET Imaging Compound to Aid Early Diagnosis and Disease Monitoring Parkinson’s News Today. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an imaging compound its researchers developed as a diagnostic tool for people with suspected parkinsonian syndromes, including Parkinson’s disease.
- Noninvasive biomarker for Parkinson’s disease possibly found in EEG data Reporting in the online journal eNeuro, researchers suggest that noninvasive EEG readings may provide easily detectable electrophysiological biomarkers to aid the diagnosis and fine-tune therapeutic treatments for the disease and potentially other motor disorders.
- The Michael J Fox Foundation is investing $15M in new grants. The 46 funded studies include a survey to help us better understand cannabis use and effects, several projects designed to deepen our understanding of Parkinson’s protein alpha-synuclein, and several more developing new ways to image aspects of Parkinson’s in the brain.
At the World Parkinson Congress in Portland, in 2016, the late Tom Isaacs, in his keynote address, said that the cure is always at least 5 years away. Based on all of the recent findings, I think that maybe his theory will be proven wrong in the next year or two. In light of that, my vision for the Parkinson’s Community in the coming year is that:
- A breakthrough is iminent, both for effective treatments that not only make our lives better, but in fact delay the disease.
- Biomarkers will become standard early predictors of Parkinson’s so that treatment can start earlier.
- And most important, all of the research mentioned above brings us much closer to a cure – not in 5 years – but in the next 1-2 years.
My personal vision is that I will continue to live well with PD, so that I can keep doing the things that I enjoy, which include:
- Taking care of myself with exercise, diet and engaging in an active social life.
- Advocating on behalf of the Parkinson’s Community and helping the newly diagnosed find their way with PD.
- Most important of all, spending time with Mr. Twitchy, our children and grandchildren, and being thankful for all that we have.
What is your vision for the coming year? For yourself? For Parkinson’s? Please join in the conversation.
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