On Saturday, September 24, 2016, the NCER-PD Clinical team went to Saarlouis Fraulautern in Germany for the third Jung und Parkinson (JuP) conference, for which Prof. Rudi Balling was a patron.
In his lecture, Prof. Balling explained how research on Parkinson's disease is conducted in Luxembourg and what strategies are being pursued in order to bring the results from fundamental research into clinical applications as quickly as possible. To this end, close cooperation with stakeholders is indispensable. "It is important that we interact with each other so that the results of our research can benefit you, the patients. That’s why I am particularly pleased that I am able to take the patronage of this conference, "said Prof. Dr Rudi Balling, director of the Luxembourg Center for Systems Biomedicine. "As a scientist who wants to understand the causes of Parkinson's disease and is researching new therapeutic approaches, I see myself and my colleagues as partners of the patients”."
The next speaker of the NCER-PD research program was Dr Christian Stallinger, who introduced "mPOWER", the new Parkinson's app for mobile phones. "It is currently difficult to objectively measure Parkinson's disease symptoms and its course. Doctors can only take snapshots of the disease during the semi-annual examination that help them provide a diagnosis and treatment. What happens in everyday life, however, often remains invisible to the physician, "explained Dr Christian Stallinger, detailing the current problem. This new mobile app aims to provide a solution, by using the sensors of the smartphone for daily precise measurements. mPower was developed by the American company Sage Bionetworks in 2014, and a version for the Luxembourg language area was recently released. "We are delighted to be the first to implement this app outside the US as part of the Luxembourg Parkinson study. Our participants are invited to test their symptoms daily and thus share the exact course of their illness with the researchers, " stated Dr Stallinger, encouraging patients to take part in this innovative research project.
Interested visitors were able to test the app as well as the neuropsychological examinations on their own, at the stand of the NCER-PD research program, and to find out more about the study.
In addition, the following renowned specialists spoke on the topic of Parkinson's:
- Prof. Dr Matthias Maschke, Chief Physician in the Department of Neurology at the Barmherzigen Brüder Hospital in Trier
- Prof. Dr Jörg Spiegel, Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Saar
- Dr Stefan Otto, anesthesiology and intensive care at the Marienhaus clinic in Saarlouis
- Mirko Lorenz, Taiji coach in Berlin
A workshop, that gave members of the association the opportunity to exchange with the speakers, wrapped up the program.
For more information about Jung and Parkinson, please visit www.jung-und-parkinson.de.