Pictured: (left-right) Drs. Peeraully, Gluck, Mammis, and Herzallah

Rutgers University-Newark’s Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience (CMBN) hosted a community outreach event for Parkinson's patients in Northern NJ on Wednesday evening March 18, 2015. Attending were Parkinson’s patients and their families, as well as also representatives of NJ Parkinson’s advocacy groups and some pharmaceutical and biomedical companies that market treatments for Parkinson’s disease (some of whom co-sponsored the event).

Co-hosted with Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences’ (RBHS) Neurology and Movement Disorders Clinics in Newark, the event was entitled "Understanding Current Trends in Research and Clinical Care for Parkinson’s Disease”.  Speakers included Tasneem Peeraully, MD (neurology) on “Parkinson’s Disease: Diagnosis and Medical Treatment Options,” Antonious Mammis, MD (neurosurgery) on “Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Treating Parkinson’s,” Mark Gluck, PhD (CMBN) on “Cognitive Changes in Parkinson’s Disease,” and Mohammad Herzallah, MD (CMBN) on “Depression and Emotional Changes in Parkinson’s Disease.”

As a result of this meeting, several of the Parkinson’s patients and their spouses enlisted to participate in joint CMBN/ RBHS research studies on Parkinson’s disease, and others explored additional treatment options at RBHS.

A follow up presentation will take place at Rutgers University-Newark(RU-N) on Thursday morning, April 23rd, for seniors in Newark as part of the African-American Brain Health Initiative.  A second Parkinson’s Awareness event will be scheduled in the fall.

For additional information about these events or to inquire about participating in Rutgers-sponsored research studies on Parkinson’s disease, please contact the Parkinson’s Research Coordinator at RU-N’s CMBN, Lisa Haber-Chalom at (973) 353-3674 or lhchalom@andromeda.rutgers.edu