Parkinson's Breakthrough
LAST UPDATE: 10/12/2006 4:28:13 PM

Some of the world's leading Parkinson's Disease researcher will be in Cincinnati this weekend for the Sunflower Revolution.

The bike event was founded by Davis Phinney, a former "Tour De France" stage winner later diagnosed with Parkinson's. There are new breakthroughs the ride will support.

A new contraption measures how well you balance when you stand. Doctor Fredy Revilla is using it to test balance in Parkinson's patients, after brain stimulation surgery. The metal platforms are hooked up to a computer which shows steadiness.

"The preliminary observations seem to suggest that some patients improve with balance and gait," Doctor Revilla tells Medical Edge Reporter Liz Bonis. "After having deep brain stimulation, and their may be different degrees of improvement." Doctor Revilla hopes to better understand which patients with Parkinson's will benefit best from Parkinson's surgery.

In the mean time, Doctor Yoram Baram, a visiting professor from Israel, is hoping these high tech goggles might help too.

"As the patient moves, and walks, the floor moves beneath them as if it were a real floor and there is evidence in the medical literature that walking on the tile floor helps a parkinson's patient walk," says Doctor Baram.

When you put them on, it is almost like something out of science fiction. So what I'm actually seeing is a black and white tile floor forcing me not to be frozen, I walk without any hesitation. The best part is, it is NOT science fiction, it is a real breakthrough which allows patients with Parkinson's to see a very different future.

To register for the Sunflower Revolution you can call 513-584-2214. The event this weekend is an educational program and a bike ride to benefit research into Parkinsons.

The goggles are expected to be on the market within a year, and will cost about $1,000.00.