Compensatory Mechanisms in Parkinson's Disease

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Date:
January 17, 2024
Time (PT):
11:00 AM
Duration (min):
60

Bas Bloem, MD reviews compensatory mechanisms, including cerebral plasticity and behavioral adaptation, in persons with Parkinson's disease.

The pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease is related to a large extent to neurodegeneration occurring in the substantia nigra, leading to subsequent changes in the nigrostriatal circuitry. However, the clinical phenotype is not just explained by this pathophysiological process, but is also to a large extent colored by two complimentary types of compensatory mechanisms.

The first is related to adaptive cerebral plasticity, such that intact brain areas in, for example, the cerebral cortex, help to support functions that were originally controlled by the basal ganglia. Bas will discuss how such plasticity can be promoted through exercise. The second is related to behavioral adaptation, in the form of compensatory behaviors that are largely self-invented by people living with Parkinson's disease, but which are also increasingly deployed by others, such as physiotherapists, as part of their therapeutic approach. He will show compelling video material to demonstrate how many persons living with Parkinson's disease show a remarkable ability to overcome their motor as well as non-motor deficits by developing a wide range of compensatory strategies.

Presenters

Bastiaan Bloem

Radboud University Medical Centre (Neurology)
Professor

Professor Bastiaan Bloem is a neurologist at the Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. He received his medical degree, with honours, at Leiden University Medical Centre in 1993 and obtained his PhD degree in 1994.

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