On the occasion of World Parkinson’s Day (April 11), several activities were carried out to disseminate information about the disease. In an event, organized by ACAP (Asociacio Catalana para el Parkinson) and CIBERNED (Research Center of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III) Dr. Eduardo Tolosa, member of Top Doctors and neurologist, spoke about “The role of the affected and associations in research”. In his talk, Dr. Tolosa highlighted the need for the collaboration and participation of volunteers in research projects. This collaboration is necessary to decisively accelerate research towards new treatments.
The Michal J Fox Foundation
Patient associations also play an important role in research, informing associates about ongoing projects in various medical centers. In particular, Tolosa emphasized the tremendous help he has received from ACAP in Parkinson’s genetics research funded by the Michael J Fox Foundation of New York. The Fox Foundation has launched a clinical trials registry (Fox Trail Finder) to which volunteers can register for information on ongoing Parkinson’s research.
Music therapy
A meeting on music therapy in Parkinson’s disease also took place at the Official College of Physicians of Barcelona. Conxita Benz, a prestigious music therapist, successfully conducted a concert in which the musicians were mostly Parkinson’s patients. The presentation of the event was carried out by Eduardo Tolosa. In his inaugural conference, “Music and brain”, Tolosa emphasized the important therapeutic effects that music has for various neurological diseases and in particular for Parkinson’s disease. Music has a powerful effect on the emotional brain and induces the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a brain neurotransmitter found at low concentrations in Parkinson’s disease.