Parkinson's Disease And Movement Disorders News

Clinical research is an integral part of developing, testing, and refining new therapies. As one of our Clinical Research Coordinators Vera George is responsible for making sure dozens of these studies at Duke run smoothly and efficiently. For this week’s “Spotlight” interview, George talks to us about the joys of helping current and future patients with myasthenia gravis, movement disorders, and other conditions.

This March, members of our Department contributed to studies that reveal potential new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease, help triage patients suffering from traumatic brain injury, address issues contributing to physician burnout, and more. In all, our faculty, staff, students, and trainees contributed to 15 studies published over the past 31 days. Read about them and find links to the original articles below.

Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders

Professionally, Clare Essex lives in two worlds. Within the lab of Laurie Sanders, PhD, and Carol Colton, PhD, in the Duke Neurology Department, she’s working part-time to improve understandings the genetic underpinnings of neurodegenerative disease. Essex spends the other half of her work week as a medical scribe at UNC REX Hospital in Raleigh.

The first month of 2022 saw the publication of 18 new peer-reviewed journal articles from members of the Duke Neurology Department. Highlights include a new article in Lancet Neurology discussing the epidemiology, diagnostics, and  biomarkers of autoimmune neuromuscular junction disorders, case reports describing the progression and treatment options for rare neurological conditions, and a summary of how the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic affects neurology residency programs in the United States.

Research authored by members of the Duke Neurology Department published during the final month of 2021 advanced our knowledge of stroke, epilepsy, dystonia, and other conditions.

The second half of 2021 was as eventful as the first for the Duke Neurology Department. Story highlights from July through December of this year include our Leonard White, PhD, winning a national award for excellence in teaching, the founding of a joint Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, two of our hospitals receiving the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s highest award for quality stroke care, and the School of Medicine receiving  awards totaling $18 million to uncover the origins of Parkinson’s disease.

The Duke Neurology Department continued to grow and expand its missions of providing excellent clinical care, conducting research to improve our understanding of neurological conditions and how to treat them, and training the next generation of neurologists throughout 2021.

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 14 new peer-reviewed journal articles written this November. Highlights include an analysis of fragmentation within the delivery of neurological health care, an examination of racial disparities in the use of telehealth, and a discussion of the best ways to use social medicine to share news on epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology. Read the paragraphs below for short summaries of each of these 14 articles, as well as links to the original entries themselves.

Memory Disorders

As an undergraduate, Miranda Shipman studied drawing and painting, teaching art and managing a gallery until she developed a rare brain tumor. After she had the tumor removed, Shipman developed a passion for neuroscience, with the hope of helping to discover new treatments. Now she’s helping to do just that in the lab of Nicole Calakos, MD, PhD, where she’s screening compounds to help people living with dystonia.

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine have been selected to lead two inter-institution team grants totaling $18 million to investigate Parkinson’s disease.

The awards from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative position Duke as a national leader in understanding the origins and development of this devastating movement disorder.