![[Webinar Recording] Live Well Today: Parkinson’s Subtypes](https://davisphinneyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/dpf_favicon-1.png "[Webinar Recording] Live Well Today: Parkinson’s Subtypes")
[Webinar Recording] Live Well Today: Parkinson’s Subtypes
Description
In August’s Live Well Today webinar, neurologist Alberto Espay, MD, discussed Parkinson’s subtypes, why they are important, and what they mean for people living with Parkinson’s today.
You can watch or listen to the webinar below. Subscribe to our YouTube page so you can be notified whenever we upload new content.
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An audio version of this podcast is available below.
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SHOW NOTES
PARKINSON’S IS PERSONAL
No two people with Parkinson’s experience it the same way. Motor symptoms vary. Non-motor symptoms vary. The age of Parkinson’s onset and diagnosis varies. The rate of progression varies. In other words, as Dr. Espay said in the webinar conversation: “There isn’t a pre-established script that Parkinson’s follows.”
All of these variations in Parkinson’s can be referred to as phenotypes. Due to the diverse phenotypes of Parkinson’s, many Parkinson’s researchers, experts, and movement disorder specialists—Dr. Espay among them—consider Parkinson’s to be more than one condition.
Subtyping addresses this. It centers around the premise that everyone living with Parkinson’s is different, living with Parkinson’s that is unique to them. It also recognizes that there are many different root causes of Parkinson’s, rather than a single cause.
And, because there are many different root causes of Parkinson’s, there can be no one single “cure” for Parkinson’s, as Dr. Espay explains. What may slow, stop, or reverse Parkinson’s progression for one subtype may have no effect on the progression of Parkinson’s among those with another subtype. Many different disease-modifying therapies need to be discovered, because there are many different subtypes of Parkinson’s.
Dr. Espay explained that knowing about Parkinson’s subtypes—and knowing which subtype of Parkinson’s you are living with today—is important for two key reasons: First, this knowledge can help you make decisions about your current treatment and approach to living well. You can dig into research about the subtype of Parkinson’s you have and learn about specific medication recommendations and intervention strategies focused on that subtype.
Second, understanding your subtype can help you explore the ongoing clinical trials that investigate aspects of your subtype. As experts continue to build understanding of Parkinson’s subtypes, they help expedite the drug development process by ensuring that the people most likely to benefit from any particular treatment are well-represented in clinical trials.
PARKINSON’S SUBTYPES AND PARKINSONISM
Six of the most common ways clinicians and research have historically attempted to subtype Parkinson’s are to differentiate–
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