Parkinson's, psyche and movement: virtual workshops for therapists and caregivers 

Parkinson's affects cognition and psyche: At the virtual congress of the German Society for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders, the Multidisciplinary Academy explains how those affected can benefit from new multimodal training and what really helps. In three sessions on March 17, 2023, therapists and caregivers can find out about innovative programs on movement disorders and other topics: exhalation training for swallowing disorders, new digital Quickcards for therapy management and evidence-based therapy for dysarthria, the neurogenic speech disorder in Parkinson's. In addition to this special offer for non-medical professional groups, therapists and nursing staff can March also take part in the scientific program of the virtual congress. The program will be broadcast live and will then be available to participants as a recording. More information and the possibility to register for the congress is available on www.dpg-akbont-kongress.de.

Date notice for journalists: Online press conference “Parkinson Update 2023: News from research, diagnostics and therapy” on Monday, March 13, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Information: www.parkinson-gesellschaft.de/die-dpg/presseservice Online registration: www.us06web.zoom.us

On March 16th and 17th, 2023, physicians, scientists, therapists and nursing staff will meet for the virtual congress "Digital Highlights" of the German Society for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders DPG. The Multidisciplinary Academy is now an integral part of the web conference: it brings together medical and non-medical professional groups and offers a forum for exchange. This is how the basis for interdisciplinary and holistic care for people with Parkinson's grows. In 2023, the focus of the program will be on psychological aspects of physiotherapy and occupational therapy, the assessment and treatment of swallowing disorders, and various nursing aspects.

New insights into physiotherapy and cognitive treatment in Parkinson's disease

There is new information, especially for the treatment of people with functional movement disorders and for cognitive training in Parkinson's disease. Because of the large number of people affected, this represents a challenge, because the range of suitable treatment options has so far been completely inadequate: "Both cognitive training and physiotherapy for functional movement disorders are innovative therapy approaches for which there is a great need. Unfortunately, they are severely underrepresented in the current care structures,” says Prof. Dr. Georg Ebersbach, chief physician at the neurological specialist hospital for movement disorders/Parkinson at the Beelitz Heilstätten in Brandenburg.

One item on the program is therefore dedicated to the special movement training that is carried out in Beelitz-Heilstätten under the direction of Senior Physician Dr. Tamara Schmidt: a multidisciplinary therapy concept for functional psychogenic movement disorders. The research team in Beelitz documented the course of treatment of 31 patients with whom this concept was used in 2017 and 2020 at the Beelitz Parkinson Center.

The lecture is practical: "The main features of the therapeutic approach in the treatment of functional movement disorders in the practicing therapies are presented using video-based case studies," says senior physician Dr. Tamara Schmidt. The special physiotherapeutic methods in cooperation with psychotherapists, speech therapists, neurologists, music and occupational therapists deliver significantly better results than standard physiotherapy or psychotherapy alone. The multidisciplinary treatment approach has a model character and expands the spectrum of neurological intervention options in this important indication.

The main thing is movement!

The importance of exercise for people with Parkinson's is shown by a current systematic review with a network meta-analysis, the results of which are presented by Moritz Ernst from the Evidence-Based Medicine working group at Cologne University Hospital. The analysis of 156 randomized controlled studies showed that structured exercise offers - from dancing, exercise in water (eg gait training or water aerobics), strength training and endurance training to Tai Chi, yoga and physiotherapy - have a beneficial effect. "But the exact type of movement could be of secondary importance," says Moritz Ernst.

Cognitive treatment: who does what help?

Movement and cognition belong together for life, as Prof. Dr. Elke Kalbe from the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne. She researches the question of who is helped by which cognitive training in neurodegenerative diseases and develops individualized measures to strengthen mental performance in Parkinson's disease, old age and dementia prevention. "While cognitive training is indicated in the case of mild cognitive disorders, one would choose the broader approach of cognitive stimulation in the case of severe cognitive disorders or dementia," says Prof. Kalbe. Furthermore, individual and group therapies, digital and "paper and pencil" training as well as training for one or more cognitive domains can be used. In the lecture, she will show which methods and exercises are best used in which phase of cognitive impairment.

Swallowing and Speech Disorders: What Really Helps

Another session of the Multidisciplinary Academy will deal with the frequent swallowing and speech disorders in Parkinson's disease. For example, new digital Quickcards enable therapists from various disciplines to quickly adapt to patients and to coordinate their complex treatment of swallowing and speech disorders. Prof. Dr. Tobias Warnecke, chief physician at the Clinic for Neurology and Neurological Early Rehabilitation at the Osnabrück Clinic, reports on the multi-professional care of dysphagia and dysarthria in Parkinson's networks. In recent years there have been numerous new developments that have now arrived in everyday clinical practice and will be discussed in the workshop, including digital quick cards for communication and therapy control between neurologists, speech therapists and other specialists, apps for dysarthria therapy and exhalation training (EMST ) for dysphagia therapy.

Annemarie Vogel, pathologist at the specialist hospital for movement disorders/Parkinson in Beelitz-Heilstätten, explains what really helps with swallowing disorders and excessive salivation, sialorrhea. Almost 80 percent of all Parkinson's patients develop dysphagia with the serious risks of malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia and even death. Dysphagia and sialorrhea also impair quality of life and increase the risk of depression, shame and anxiety. The treatment must also be multimodal here.

Information about the program and the digital registration form those interested can find it online www.dpg-akbont-kongress.de under the menu item "Multidisciplinary Academy". In addition to the digital live events at the congress, nursing staff can also use the e-learning program "Online Nursing School Parkinson" with podcasts, videos and text materials (www.online-pflegeschule.de). The textbook “Caring for people with Parkinson’s” (Kohlhammer-Verlag, 4th edition 2021) is suitable as an accompanying book.

information for the media

Online press conference of the DPG on Monday, March 13, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m

Information on Program, speakers and accreditation under www.parkinson-gesellschaft.de/die-dpg/presseservice. We would also be happy to take you to ours Press distributor on. Via the congress website www.dpg-akbont-kongress.de Can you zusätzlich Register for the virtual congress 2023 for free. We are happy to arrange interviews and provide printable image material. We look forward to hearing about your publication or sending you a copy.

Press office of the German Society for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders (DPG)
c/o albert ZWEI media GmbH
Dipl.-Biol. Sandra Wilcken
Phone: +49 (0) 89 46148611; E-mail: presse@parkinson-gesellschaft.de