This month will mark the 18th International Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Society congress, which will be taking place from this June in Stockholm, Sweden. The meeting will bring together clinicians, scientists and other healthcare professionals to share knowledge and research in order to advance the field of movement disorders, a group of disorders which include conditions such as Dystonia and Parkinson’s disease.
The international congress provides a strong platform to further encourage disease awareness through education and research in areas such as Parkinson’s disease. As well as being a movement disorder, Parkinson’s disease is also classed as a brain disorder. The European Brain Council has declared 2014 as European Year of the Brain and as a science skills leader with a strong heritage in providing medicines for conditions of the central nervous system, UCB continues to support activities, such as this upcoming congress, to improve the management of such conditions and to ultimately improve the lives of those affected by them.
“The impact that movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease can have on those affected by the condition can be devastating. It is important to support further research and increase awareness of such disorders so that we can improve the overall management of these conditions and improve the quality of life of patients” said Dr John Kenneth-Sake, European Medical Director, CNS at UCB.
There are many different types of movement disorders and these affect varying numbers of people throughout the UK. Parkinson’s disease, one example of a movement disorder, affects an estimated 127,000 people in the UK. It is a condition that affects physical movement, and three of the most common symptoms include tremor, slowness of movement and muscle stiffness (rigidity). Although there are many different movement disorders, Parkinson’s disease is becoming increasingly significant, and in 2013, The Movement Disorder Society, officially changed its name to The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society in order to recognise the growing importance of disease care and research of this condition, within the field of movement disorders.
Diagnosing movement disorders can be a complicated process, for example, a lack of laboratory tests makes Parkinson’s disease difficult to diagnose. In addition, treatments for movement disorders vary and there is currently no cure for Parkinson’s disease, although treatments are available to help relieve symptoms and maintain quality of life for patients.
The purpose of the 18th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and MovementDisorders is to offer a forum for clinical and basic discussion on a variety of movement disorder topics, including presentations of current research and available treatments.