The Parkinson’s & Movement Disorder Foundation (PMDF)
Dear Friends of PMDF,
Near the beginning of 2000, as singer Linda Ronstadt was recording a song with Emmylou Harris, she detected something wrong in her voice. “It was like something had grabbed my vocal cords and stopped them,” she says. “Like a hand had just grabbed it and was squeezing.” Gradually, her range decreased and her pitch deteriorated. It was nearly ten years later, in 2012, that a neurologist diagnosed her condition as Parkinson’s disease. Just recently, in late 2019, her diagnosis was changed to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).1 PSP is a rare brain disorder, with an estimnated 20,000 victims in the United States. (An estimated 50,000 Americans a year are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.) PSP is frequently misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease because they both involve slowed movements and gait difficulty. There are differences: tremor is very common with Parkinson’s, but rare with PSP. Speech and swallowing difficulties are more common and severe with PSP.2,3 The cause of PSP is unknown. It is associated with abnormal deposits of the protein tau, the same protein that is implicated in ALzheimer’s disease. Its symptoms come from the deterioration of brain cells. One area that is damaged is the substantia nigra, which is also damaged in Parkinson’s disease, which is why the two diseases share some motor symptoms. There is no treatment or cure for PSP. It may respond to levodopa at first, but this effect does not last. There are some clinical trials underway (for details, visit ClinicalTrials.gov.)2 When famous people like Linda Ronstadt, Michael J. Fox, and Alan Alda reveal that they have a movement disorder, the public notices. But you are probably reading this newsletter because you have a personal connection to these disorders. PMDF excists to help you contribute financially to research into the causes, treatments, and cures of these diseases. Thanks to your contributions we have been able to support some valuable research. We are finalizing our choices for this year’s grants, and we will tell you about them in the next newsletter.
Thank you for your support.
Mark Wadsworth
PMDF President
Our Team
The Parkinson's & Movement Disorder Foundation relies upon its Board of Directors to maintain the vision, promote the mission, and support the Parkinson's disease community of Southern California.
These are the people who work daily to carry out PMDF's mission:
Board of Directors
- Mark Wadsworth, President
- Mary Ann Chapman, PhD., V.P.
- Sami Nasrawi, PharmD, Secretary
- Gianni Truong, Treasurer
- Peter Perry
- Deborah Wilson
Honorary Advisory Board
- Hon. Loretta Sanchez
- Tom Railsback, Ret. U.S. Congressman
- Victor Tsao
Medical Advisors
- Daniel D. Truong, MD
- Victor Passy, MD
- Kong Truong, MD
Executive Director
- Tien Nguyen