Trials Begin for a New Weapon Against Parkinson’s: Light
Light therapy can help lift moods, heal wounds, and boost the immune system. Can it improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, too? A first-of-its-kind trial scheduled to launch this fall in France aims to find out. In seven patients, a fiber optic cable implanted in their brain will deliver pulses of near-infrared (NIR) light directly to […]
Five Questions for Michael S. Okun, M.D.
Michael S. Okun, M.D. is chair of Neurology, Adelaide Lackner professor, and executive director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He received his M.D. with honors from the University of Florida and, subsequently, was fellowship-trained at Emory University before establishing the movement disorders program at […]
UF Neurologists Create a New Image of Parkinson Disease
An outdated sketch from 1886 by Sir William Richard Gowers remains among the most used and viewed depictions of Parkinson disease, despite great advancements in the understanding of the neurological disorder. Now, UF neurologists Melissa Armstrong, M.D. and Michael S. Okun, M.D. have worked with a medical illustrator to create a new, more diverse representation of who is affected by […]
As Cases of Parkinson’s Disease Increase, Community Must Demand Funding, Change
The odds of a person developing Parkinson’s disease over a lifetime are 1 in 15. It is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease and is overtaking Alzheimer’s for the top spot. That stunning growth curve foreshadows bankruptcy for many health-care systems, said Dr. Michael Okun, of the Fixel Institute of Neurological Diseases and a leading international expert […]
Preparing a Person With Parkinson’s for a Hospital Stay
About 1 million people in the United States have Parkinson’s. Neurologist Michael Okun, M.D., medical director for the Parkinson’s Foundation and chair of neurology at University of Florida Health, says it is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world. One of the things that’s most troubling for patients, Okun says, is communicating their needs when […]
New, Non-Invasive Technology Can Accurately Diagnose Parkinson’s
Doctors have to hand-draw maps of the brain to detect Parkinson’s. However, sometimes this method can lead to misdiagnosis. This may change after a research team led by Dr. David Vaillancourt, UF department chairman of applied physiology and kinesiology, engineered a non-invasive technology that automatically diagnoses Parkinson’s disease. The research produced an automatic imaging system […]