VCU news

By Frances Dumenci

The Virginia Commonwealth University Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center will co-host the fifth annual “Reasons for Hope for Anyone Affected by Essential Tremor” seminar.

The seminar will take place Saturday, March 1, at the Larrick Student Center on the MCV Campus of VCU, 900 Turpin St., from 10:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Registration is $5 per person and includes lunch, parking and materials. For more information, visit parkinsons.vcu.edu/education/seminars/ETday.html, call 804-662-5300 or email pdcenter@vcu.edu. Register online at www.support.vcu.edu/event/ETHope.

The seminar will provide information about local area resources, practical coping tips, overlap of essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, common medications and surgical interventions for essential tremor. Participants will gain knowledge and tools they can implement to cope with their tremor and improve their quality of life. This seminar will benefit people with essential tremor as well as their families and friends. Health care professionals who work with this patient population are also welcome to attend.

Speakers include Mark Baron, M.D., professor in the VCU Department of Neurology and director of the Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Centerat the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center  

Nathan “Ben” Herz, O.T.D., program director, Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, and professor, Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences, Mary Baldwin College.

Kathryn Holloway, M.D., professor in the VCU Department of Neurosurgery, director of Neurosurgical Services in the Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center Neurosurgical Services and chief of neurosurgery at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center;

Jeffrey Hoder, D.P.T., physical therapist and director of rehabilitation and wellness at the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center; and

Emily Peron, Pharm.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science at the VCU School of Pharmacy.

Along with the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center, the seminar is co-sponsored by the International Essential Tremor Foundation and the Richmond Essential Tremor Support Group, McGuire VA Medical Center (PADRECC) and Medtronic, Inc.