Scientific Issue Discussions

Controversies and Hot Topics in Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders

MDS's Scientific Issues Discussions showcase the latest in scientific advances, new developments, and trends in the field of Movement Disorders, prepared by the Scientific Issues Committee.

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The past, present, and future roles of α-synuclein seed amplification assays

Date: May 2024
Authors: Omar El-Agnaf, PhD; Ilham Abdi, PhD; Nobutaka Hattori, MD, PhD, FANA; Tiago Outeiro, PhD.
Editors: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD; Daniela Berg, MD, PhD; Jeffery H. Kordower, PhD

Discovery of new repeat expansion disorders in ataxia and beyond

Date: November 2023
Prepared by SIC Member: Katja Lohmann, PhD
Authors: Melanie Bahlo, PhD, AM, FAHMS; Mathilde Renaud, MD, PhD; Stephan Züchner, MD, PhD, FAAN
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD

Exploring the path towards a biological definition of Parkinson’s Disease and its widespread implications

Date: March 2024
Authors: Francisco Cardoso, MD; Michael S. Okun, MD; Shen-Yang Lim, MD; Njideka Okubadejo, MD; Bastiaan R. Bloem, MD; and Sirwan K.L. Darweesh, MD, PhD.
Editors: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD; Daniela Berg, MD, PhD; Jeffery H. Kordower, PhD.

Hot topics and controversies on Stiff Person Spectrum Disorders (SPSD)

Date: September 2023
Prepared by SIC Member: Mario Cornejo-Olivas, MD
Authors: Bettina Balint, MD; Kailash Bhatia, MD, PhD
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD

Neurophysiology of Functional Movement Disorders

Date: June 2023
Prepared by SIC Member: Kirsten Zeuner, MD
Authors: Anne Weissbach, MD; Isabel Pareés, MD; and Carine W. Maurer, MD, PhD
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD

Model systems for understanding dystonia pathogenesis

Date: March 2023
Prepared by SIC Member: Kathryn Peall, MD
Authors: Antonia Pisani MD, PhD; Nutan Sharma MD, PhD; H.A. Jinnah, MD
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD.

Value of Neuropathology in Atypical Parkinsonism

Date: January 2023
Prepared by SIC Member: Ece Bayram, MD, PhD
Authors: David Coughlin MD, MTR; Melissa Murray, PhD.; Shunsuke Koga, MD, PhD; and Gabor G. Kovacs MD PhD.
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD.

Genetic architecture of Parkinson's disease: global initiatives and importance of underrepresented populations

Date: November 2022
Prepared by SIC Member: Mario Cornejo-Olivas, MD
Authors: Andrew Singleton, PhD; Cornelis Blauwendraat, PhD.; Ignacio F. Mata, PhD.
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD.

Functional movement disorders: Neurophysiology, diagnosis and treatment

Date: September 2022
Prepared by SIC Member: Kirsten Zeuner, MD
Authors: Stoyan Popkirov, MD; Petra Schwingenschuh, MD; David L Perez MD, MMSc; Mark Edwards MBBS, BSc, PhD
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD

Huntington’s disease: Updates on genetics, therapeutics, and a new cohort

Date: August 2022 
Prepared by SIC Member: Jee-Young Lee, MD, PhD 
Authors: Edward Wild, FRCP, PhD; Tiago Mestre, MD, PhD; & Jee-Young Lee, MD, PhD
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD   

Advances in Treatments of Essential Tremor

Date: July 2022
Prepared by SIC Member: Han-Lin Chiang, MD
Authors: W.Jeff Elias, MD; Eng King Tan, MD; Joshua Wong, MD; and Michael S. Okun, MD
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD

Sex and gender in movement disorders

Date: June 2022
Prepared by SIC Member: Ece Bayram, MD, PhD
Authors: Indira Subramanian, MD; Wissam Deeb, MD; Jason D. Flatt, PhD, MPH
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD

Animal Models of Prodromal Parkinson’s Disease

Date: April 2022
Prepared by SIC Member: Abby L. Olsen, MD, PhD 
Authors: Nathalie Van Den Berge, PhD; Per Borghammer, MD, PhD, DMSc; Hodaka Yamakado, MD, PhD
Editor:  Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD

Genetics of Essential Tremor

Date: March 2022
Prepared by SIC member: Katja Lohmann, PhD.
Authors: Pau Pastor, MD, PhD; Günther Deuschl, MD, PhD; Cornelis Blauwendraat, PhD.
Editor: Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD.

Autophagy in Parkinson’s disease

Date: September 2021
Prepared by SIC member: Hideki Mochizuki, MD, PhD
Authors: Maria Xilouri, PhD., Dimitri Krainc, MD, PhD., Noriyuki Matsuda, PhD.
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease

Date: August 2021
Prepared by SIC Member: Han-Lin Chiang, MD
Authors: John Rothwell, MS, PhD., Robert Chen, MA, MBBChir, MSc, FRCPC, Yoshikazu Ugawa, MD, PhD.
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Istradefylline, Does it Work?

Date: July 2021
Prepared by SIC member: Abby L. Olsen, MD PhD
Authors: Wataru Sako MD PhD and Michael Schwarzschild, MD PhD
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Can we make a new diagnosis and treat Parkinson’s disease by telemedicine?

Close-up shot of middle-aged cardiologist standing next to his senior patient and showing her how to use fitness tracker Date: March 2021
Prepared by SIC Member: Roy Alcalay, MD, MS
Authors: Ray Dorsey, MD; Stanley Fahn, MD; T. Poplar, MD (Pseudonym)
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

COVID-19 and Movement Disorders: potential relationship and mechanisms

SARS-COV2 and Movement Disorders Date: August 2020
Prepared by SIC Member: Alvaro Sanchez-Ferro, MD
Authors: Tiago Outeiro, PhD.; Mariana HG Monje, Patrik Brundin, MD PhD
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery

Date: June 2020
Prepared by SIC Member: Lorraine V. Kalia, MD, PhD
Authors: Igor Jurisica, PhD, DSc; Alix Lacoste, PhD
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

What Can Molecular Imaging Offer for the Differential Diagnosis of Parkinsonism?

Molecular Imaging Date: May 2020
Prepared by SIC Member: Ece Bayram, MD, PhD
Authors: Cecilia Peralta, MD; David Eidelberg, MD
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Cognitive Impairment in Multiple System Atrophy

Cognitive Impairment in MSA Date: April 2020
Prepared by SIC Member: Han-Lin Chiang, MD
Authors: Shunsuke Koga, MD, PhD; Takayoshi Shimohata, MD, PhD; Gregor Wenning, MD, PhD, MSc
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Technological Advances for Tremor Assessment

Close-up shot of middle-aged cardiologist standing next to his senior patient and showing her how to use fitness tracker Date: March 2020
Prepared by SIC Member: Ece Bayram, MD, PhD
Authors: Rodger J. Elble, MD, PhD; Dietrich Haubenberger, MD, MHSc; Fatta B. Nahab, MD
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Immunotherapy in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

Immunoglobulin Date: January 2020
Prepared by SIC Member: Abby L. Olsen, MD PhD
Authors: Adam L. Boxer, MD PhD; Prof. Maria Stamelou, FEAN
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Mannitol Treatment for Parkinson's Disease

Date: January 2020 Flowering Ash
Prepared by SIC Member: Roy Alcalay, MD, MS
Authors: Eliezer Masliah, MD; David Arkadir, MD PhD; Brian Fiske, PhD
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Parkinson's Disease or Diseases: Are PD Subtypes Useful in Predicting Disease Progression?

Date: November 2019
Prepared by SIC Member: Alvaro Sanchez-Ferro, MD.
Authors: Eduardo De Pablo-Fernández, MD; Ron Postuma, MD, MSc
Editor: Un Jung Kang, MD

Sleep Problems in MSA

Date: August 2019
Prepared by SIC Member: Han-Joon Kim, MD, PhD
Authors: Pietro Cortelli, MD, PhD, IRCCS-ISNB, University of Bologna, Italy, and Tetsutaro Ozawa, MD, Department of Neurology, Uonuma Institute of Community Medicine, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata, Japan
Editors: Stella M. Papa, MD, and Un Jung Kang

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Date: July 2019
Authors: Alfonso Fasano, MD, PhD, Sokratis Papageorgiou
Commentators: Anthony Lang, OC, MD, FRCPC, and Joachim Krauss, MD
Editor: Stella M. Papa, MD

Rehabilitation as a Therapeutic Approach for Dystonia

Date: June 2019
Prepared by SIC Member: Aparna Wagle Shukla, MD
Authors: Amit Batla, MBBS, MD DM, Lynley Bradnam, PhD, and Teresa Kimberley, PhD
Editors: Stella Papa, MD

Nutrition-Based Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease

Date: May 2019
Blog Prepared by SIC Member: Praween Lolekha, MD, MSc
Authors: Maria Stamelou, MD, PhD, FEAN; Xiang Gao, MD, PhD
Editors: Stella Papa, MD, and Un Jung Kang, MD

Apathy in Parkinson's Disease

Date: April 2019
Prepared by SIC Member: Jau-Shin Lou, MD, PhD, MBA
Authors: Javier Pagonabarraga, MD, PhD; Tanya Harlow, MD; Jau-Shin Lou, MD, PhD, MBA
Editor: Stella M. Papa, MD

LRRK2 in Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease

Date: March 2019
Prepared by SIC Member: Lorraine V. Kalia, MD, PhD
Authors: J. Timothy Greenamyre, MD, PhD; Andrew West, PhD; Connie Marras, MD, PhD
Editor: Stella M. Papa, MD

Early-stage predictors of Parkinson’s disease evolution – what do we know about REM Sleep Behavior disorder (RBD) and the link to PD?

Date: February 2019
Prepared by SIC member: Susanne A. Schneider, MD
Authors: Susanne Schneider, MD; Ron Postuma, MD; Daniela Berg, MD
Editor: Stella Papa, MD

β2-Adrenoreceptor Agonists and Antagonists and Parkinson’s Disease

Date: January 2019
Prepared by SIC member: Connie Marras, MD
Authors: Lorraine V. Kalia, MD, PhD, FRCPC; Raymond Y. Lo, MD, PhD
Editor: Stella Papa, MD

Hey Siri, Do I Have Parkinson's?

Date: December 2018
Prepared by SIC member: Álvaro Sanchez-Ferro, MD
Authors: Alberto Espay, MD, MSc and Walter Maetzler, MD
Editor: Stella Papa, MD

MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound (FUS) to Treat Movement Disorders

Date: November 2018
Prepared by SIC Member: Hideki Mochizuki, MD, PhD
Authors: Takaomi Taira, MD, PhD; Andres M. Lozano, MD, PhD; José A. Obeso, MD, PhD CINAC
Editor: Stella Papa, MD

Pitfalls in the Diagnosis of Multiple System Atrophy

Date: September 2018
Prepared by SIC Member: Han-Joon Kim, MD, PhD
Authors: Hirohisa Watanabe, MD, PhD and Horacio Kaufmann, MD, FAAN
Editor: Stella M. Papa, MD

Genetic Testing for GBA and LRRK2 Mutations

Date: August 2018
Prepared by SIC Member: Roy Alcalay, MD, MS, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Authors: Jill S. Goldman, MS, MPhil, CGC; David K. Simon, MD, PhD; Nir Giladi, MD
Editor: Stella M. Papa, MD

Biomarkers in Clinical Practice and Research in Parkinson’s Disease

Date: July 2018
Prepared by SIC Member: Un Jung Kang, MD
Authors: Alice Chen-Plotkin, MD; Jing Zhang, MD, PhD; Brit Mollenhauer, MD
Editor: Stella M. Papa, MD

Off Label Prescribing of Disease-Modifying Therapies Under Investigation: Balancing Uncertain Risks and Benefits

Date: June 2018
Prepared by SIC Member: Connie Marras, MD, PhD
Authors: Roger Albin, MD; Samuel A. Frank, MD; Albert Hung, MD; Soania Mathur, MD
Editor: Stella M. Papa, MD

Multisensory Hallucinations and Delusions in Parkinson’s Disease

Date: May 2018
Prepared by SIC member: Praween Lolekha, MD, MSc
Authors: Joseph H. Friedman, MD; Gregory Pontone, MD; Jorge L. Juncos, MD
Editors: Stella Papa, MD and Un Kang, MD

Dance for Parkinson's Disease

Date: April 2018
Prepared by SIC member: Lorraine V. Kalia, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Authors: Gammon Earhart, Pt, PhD; Madeleine E. Hackney, PhD; Ron Postuma, MD, MSc; Sarah Robichaud; Susan Fox, MRCP(UK), PhD
Editors: Stella Papa, MD and Un Kang, MD