Penn Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center

!!STAFF HIGHLIGHT!! Welcome, Molly! One of our three first-year fellows. Where are you from? ... Northern Virginia Where did you go for medical school/your training up to this point? I attended medical school at the University of Virginia and Neurology residency at University of Pennsylvania Why movement disorders? I went into neurology because I love the complexity of the brain and how many things happen below the surface that affect us in profound ways we don't even realize. Movement disorders the perfect example of that. Usually when there is a problem in the brain, we think about a straightforward loss of output: weakness or numbness or difficulty with vision or speech. But with movement disorders you are seeing problems with unconscious circuits that modify how we move. An injury to the brain can cause extra movements or change the size of movements, actions we usually take for granted are under our control. I think that is the wonderous part of neurology. What’s something interesting about you? A fun fact, a favorite hobby? Before I decided to go into medicine, I was a massage therapist. In fact, learning anatomy for massage school is part of what made me realize I wanted to be a doctor in the first place! **Another fun fact-yes that is a deer in the picture! In Nara, Japan the deer are protected and get fed by visitors, they even bow to you to get a treat! If you could give our patients once piece of advice, what would it be? I love podcasts and was recently listening to an episode of one call Invisibilia called An Unlikely Superpower. It's about a woman who discovered she could smell Parkinson's Disease on patients long before they develop motor symptoms. The whole episode is great and quite interesting, but in the second half they focus on a woman with Parkinson's. The show describes how she changed her thinking about her diagnosis from a "disease" to a "condition," and something about the reframing was empowering. She started throwing herself into various activities that kept her active and gave her back much of the function she had initially lost. I find her story inspiring because it shows how much perspective and motivation can impact our lives.

!!STAFF HIGHLIGHT!! Introducing one of the very best physical therapists, Heather Cianci Where are you from? I grew up in the Poconos but moved to Philly to complete my final therapy affiliation at HUP. Now I live with my husband and 2 boys in Aston, PA - Delaware County... Where did you go for medical school/your training up to this point? Undergrad - BS in PT from the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA (1994) - I have been with Penn now for 26 years! Grad - MS in Gerontology from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA (2004) Board Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist (1999) Certified in LSVT BIG, PWR!, Rock Steady Boxing, Music & Memory Graduate of Allied Team Training for Parkinson's through the Parkinson's Foundation Why movement disorders? I was already working in Geriatrics at Pennsylvania Hospital and loving it - it seemed like a natural progression when the Movement Disorder Center relocated from Graduate Hospital here. I have enjoyed every moment of it! *Parkinson's Rehab celebrates its 20th anniversary this November* What’s something interesting about you? A fun fact, a favorite hobby? I belong to a book club that meets in a cemetery - The Boneyard Bookworms at Laurel Hill Cemetery. I love touring old cemeteries all over the world (much to the dismay of my children!) If you could give our patients once piece of advice, what would it be? Use more music in your life. Find songs that wake you up, calm you down, motivate you, make you sing out loud, make you dance, and make you happy. You will be surprised how much music can impact your mood and movement! If you've done any therapy with Heather you know she loves encouraging you with her spotify!

Continuing with our staff/faculty highlights, next I would like to introduce Dr. Pavan Vaswani, one of our fellows. Check out his Q&A below... Where are you from? Washington state, on the west coast... Where did you go for medical school/your training up to this point? I trained at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for my MD PhD, and then did Neurology residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School in Boston. Why movement disorders? It’s a wonderful specialty there are many opportunities to make a difference for someone by thinking hard about the diagnosis or about treatment options. There is also a lot of exciting research going on, so there are often new things to offer to our patients. What’s something interesting about you? I collect coins from around the world. I also make my own mead (honey wine). If you could give our patients once piece of advice, what would it be? If you can, try to take advantage of the increase in virtual activities in the movement disorders community. The Living Well at Home series run by Suzanne Reichwein is a great way to stay connected, stay active, and learn more about PD.

Exceeded our goal and have raised $7524 WOW! $397 shy of our $7,000 fundraising goal! The Walk to Stamp Out Parkinson's is THIS SATURDAY! ... Help us get to our goal by donating or joining out team at https://events.theparkinsoncouncil.org/team/310205 See more

WEBINAR: Physical Therapy and Parkinson's Panel hosted by the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson's Monday, October 26 at 11am Pacific, 1pm Central, and 2pm Eastern See this link for more information and to sign up!

Have you heard about focused ultrasound? This treatment option uses sound wave energy to eliminate brain tissue in the area of the brain that causes symptoms like tremor for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and Essential Tremor (ET). Here at Penn we are very lucky to be able to offer this treatment option to our patients provided by our very own Dr. Gordon Baltuch! For more information visit this link https://www.pennmedicine.org//treatments-and-procedures/mr or spea...k with your provider! Check out this article about Novant Health's first patient treated with this technology. **Insurance coverage for focused ultrasound for the treatment of Parkinson's disease tremor is limited at this time, be sure to speak with your doctor and/or insurance provider

Over the next few weeks, we will be taking the time to highlight some of our faculty and staff who work so hard to care for our patients and their families! Today, we are going to start with Dr. Andres Deik, Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Penn Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Deik is a graduate of the Universidad del Norte in his native Barranquilla, Colombia. He completed his Neurology residency and Movement Disorders fell...owship at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, in New York City. His fellowship had a special focus on dystonia, and this condition has become his main academic interest. At the University of Pennsylvania, most of Dr. Deik's time is dedicated to clinical care, which includes DBS programming and botulinum toxin injections. He is also intimately involved in the Movement Disorders fellowship program at Penn, and in the execution of clinical trials. If you have seen Dr. Deik over the past few months, he has probably reminded you to exercise, get your flu shot, wash your hands frequently, and continue to follow masking and social isolation guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Thank you for your service to our patients, Dr. Deik!

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES! GO EAGLES And Go Terri! Why do you walk? Join us this Saturday, October 17!

Why do YOU walk? Listen to Sharon tell us why she supports the Parkinson’s Council and the Walk to Stamp Out Parkinson’s Disease!

The Parkinson Council Walk is FIVE DAYS AWAY!!! We have raised $5484 so far and have set a goal of fundraising $7,000. Help us reach this goal by joining team PENN or simply donating at https://events.theparkinsoncouncil.org/team/310205 This week we will be highlighting how these funds directly support our center!

Check out this video on how to avoid a "naked" ballot by Penn Medicine neurologist Dr. Katherine Hamilton. Make sure you have a plan to VOTE!

TODAY! In our Living Well at Home Series... Educational Talk Parkinson’s Medicine; Past, Present and Future 10/6 2:00pm Present with Wijdan Rai, MD ... Log on to https://upenn.bluejeans.com/7837225577%20 Call in number is 1-408-419-1715 enter 8485182#

We are just over TWO WEEKS away from The Parkinson Council Walk to Stamp Out Parkinson's. While we wish we could see you all in person, we have to walk together in spirit this year! The Penn Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center has a fundraising goal of $7,000 for this year. Why? Because funds raised for this event go directly to programming for our patients. We have raised $4,288 so far, let's keep going! Please join our team or donate by clicking the link in this event.