NOVEMBER general

membership meeting

speaker panel:

R. Malcolm Stewart, MD Michael Stoltz, MD, FACP

Jeryn Laengrich, MS, CCC/SLP

See page 2 for speaker bios

topic:

Medicare 101: A Doctors Perspective

on Your Benefits

Monday, November 17, 2014 1:00 p.m.

(Please note this is 3rd Monday)

We look forward to seeing you!

NOVEMBER 2014

6370 LBJ Freeway Suite 170

Dallas, TX 75240 (972) 620-7600 www.daps.us

INSIDE

University Park United Methodist Church

4024 Caruth Blvd (at Preston) Dallas, TX 75225

Giving Thanks

for Another Successful

Giving Day

The sixth annual North Texas Giving Day exceeded its own national giving day record by raising more than $26.3 million in 18 hours, surpassing 2013 results by more than $1 million. Community-wide events, nonprofit performances and a groundswell of support

led to widespread buzz and excitement. More than 98,000 donations benefited 1,580 nonprofits. From 6 AM to midnight on September 18, 2014, donations poured in from all 50 states, six territories and more than 28 countries. Twenty-six percent of donations were from first-time givers to their chosen charity.

DAPS did very well again this year, receiving $21,492 from 285 unique donors. In addition, an anonymous donor has agreed to give an extra $1,500 for our accomplishments. We placed 6th overall among small nonprofit organizations. Interestingly, all the other small groups in the top 10 were raising money for the support of animals. DAPS was the only one that helps people. The money raised during this event will go toward funding the exercise, speech, and support groups that DAPS provides free of charge to those affected by Parkinson's disease. It will be enough to fund approximately 350 hours, or about 17 weeks worth of group activities. During the time of year when we stop and give thanks for blessings, DAPS is especially appreciative for all who participated in in North Texas Giving Day by donating online or calling the office with your donation information. Please take time to look at our note of thanks on pages 4-5 to see how enthusiastically friends and family of DAPS gave this year. Without your support and participation, we could not do what we do. Your donations will make a real difference in the lives of the people with Parkinson's whom we serve.

november speakers 2

medicines in the pipeline 3

holiday luncheon information 3

note of thanks 4-5

member profile 6

memorials, honors, donations 6

group schedules 7

calendar of events 8

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=4024+Caruth+Blvd,+Dallas,+TX+75225&hl=en&sll=32.859162,-96.802878&sspn=0.011662,0.024784&oq=4024+Caruth+Blvd+75225&hnear=4024+Caruth+Blvd,+Dallas,+Texas+75225&t=m&z=16https://maps.google.com/maps?q=4024+Caruth+Blvd,+Dallas,+TX+75225&hl=en&sll=32.859162,-96.802878&sspn=0.011662,0.024784&oq=4024+Caruth+Blvd+75225&hnear=4024+Caruth+Blvd,+Dallas,+Texas+75225&t=m&z=16

PAGE 2 DAPS NOVEMBER 2014

Dedicated to impacting and improving the lives of those

affected by Parkinsons disease

Executive Board

Cindy Weatherall, President Chad Swank, Ph.D., Vice President

Joyce Susman, Secretary and Advisory Council Liaison

Diana Winkelmann, Treasurer

Board of Directors

Liza Farrow-Gillespie, J.D. Ann Heidger Sandi Pautler Jim Struble

Medical Advisory Board

Shilpa Chitnis, MD, Ph.D. Richard B. Dewey, Jr., M.D. Richard L. Fulbright, Ph.D. Dwight C. German, Ph.D. Jorge A. Romero, M.D.

R. Malcolm Stewart, M.D. Gary L. Tunell, M.D.

Newsletter

Jill Dominguez, Editor

The DAPS newsletter is published monthly as an information guide only, and does not serve as legal or medical advice. We welcome your feedback, contributions or requests. Please send to or contact:

Jill Dominguez DAPS

6370 LBJ Frwy Ste 170 Dallas, TX 75240

Phone: 972-620-7600 jill@daps.us

www.daps.us facebook.com/daps.us

All submissions must be received by the first of the month preceding publication date and are subject to editing.

Advisory Council

Sarah Atwood Jean Blomquist

Ben Casey Shirley Hand Charlene Noe Barbara Taylor

november speakers: Dr. R. Malcolm Stewart Dr. Michael Stoltz Jeryn Laengrich

In the midst of open enrollment time for Medicare (the deadline is December 7), we are hosting a panel of medical experts who will present a factual discussion about Medicare. Jeryn Laengrich wlil moderate the session, with Dr. Stewart and Dr. Stoltz providing information about Medicare coverage and what is available to beneficiaries. R. Malcolm Stewart, M.D., is a movement disorder specialist who focuses on Parkinsons disease and motor and cognitive behavior. He is the director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas where he uses computer technology to study quantitative measures of human performance and how exercise or therapy can impact performance. Dr. Stewart also did a fellowship in Neuropharmacology. He holds the Charles R. Sitter Chair in Parkinsons disease and the John and Patricia Cox Chair in Movement Disorders. He is Clinical Professor of Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Texas. Michael Stoltz, M.D., currently serves on the Board of Directors for Cariloop. Cariloop empowers people to take control of their senior care and service choices in a revolutionary way. Stoltz joined Texas Health Resources in January 2008 as Executive Vice President of Texas Health and recently retired as the President of Texas Health Physicians Group. Prior to joining Texas Health in a full-time leadership position, Dr. Stoltz was a partner with Dialysis Associates and a member of the medical staff of many hospitals in the Fort Worth area, including Chief of Staff of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. Dr. Stoltz served as Chairman of the Texas Health Physicians Leadership Committee and member of the Texas Health Board of Trustees before assuming his current position. Jeryn Laengrich is the VP of Marketing and Consumer Relations at Cariloop. She has extensive clinical experience as a speech-language therapist in every healthcare setting, and she has held director positions over Rehab Services and Business Development for acute care hospitals and geriatric care facilities. She also served as Director of the Parkinsons and Movement Disorders Center at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, where she implemented many programs to support the Parkinsons community across North Texas.

http://www.daps.ushttp://www.facebook.com/daps.us

NOVEMBER 2014 DAPS PAGE 3

C urrent medicines for Parkinsons disease are approved to treat the symptoms of the disease, such as mobility problems and tremors, but do not replace lost nerve cells or halt the progression of the disease itself. The loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain is an underlying issue in Parkinsons disease. Several medicines in development are disease-modifying therapies focused on protecting brain cells in an attempt to halt disease progression, or treatments aimed at generating new cells or repairing damaged nerve cells.

A gene therapy in development comprises an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector that delivers the gene for aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) to cells in a part of the brain that controls movement. AADC is an enzyme that converts levodopa, a drug currently used to treat Parkinsons disease symptoms, to dopamine. As Parkinsons disease progresses, however, AADC activity declines and levodopa becomes less effective. Delivering AADC to the brain could restore the therapeutic effectiveness of levodopa and improve dopamine production.

A potential first-in-class medicine targets a receptor found in the basal ganglia of the brain, where degeneration and abnormality are often seen in Parkinsons disease. Because the basal ganglia play an important role in motor control, this medicines distinct action makes it a potentially viable treatment for movement control challenges in later stages of the disease.

An intraduodenal gel formation in development is a combination of levodopa (a version of dopamine that is able to travel from the blood to the brain by penetrating the blood brain barrier) and carbidopa, which helps prevent levodopa from being degraded before it reaches the brain. The medicine is delivered to the

patient directly into the duodenum (first section of the small intestine) through a portable fusion pump. This mechanism of delivery helps prevent levodopa degradation and promotes faster absorption, and maintenance of more constant levels of levodopa. In standard levodopa therapy, the amount of levodopa in the blood can vary significantly, leading to inadequate maintenance of Parkinsons disease symptoms.

A molecular imaging agent in development uses SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) to aid in the diagnosis of Parkinsons disease. The imaging agent binds to the dopamine transporter (DAT) protein found on the surface of dopamine-producing neurons and is designed to measure the number of DATs in the region of the brain responsible for movement. Parkinsons patients have a reduced number of dopamine-producing neurons and a significantly lower number of DATs.

A potential first-in-class treatment is being developed to treat Parkinsons disease psychosis (PDP). The medicine blocks the activity of a receptor that plays an important role in psychosis without blocking the therapeutic properties of dopamine. There are no approved treatments for PDP in the United States.

Source: Pharmaceutical Resea