MDS Podcast

In this episode, Prof. Tiago Outeiro interviews Prof. William Langston on the intriguing history of drug addicts manifesting parkinsonism in the 1980s, and how MPTP became a tool compound for modeling certain aspects of Parkinson's disease.

Prof. Marina de Koning-Tijssen interviews Prof. Kathryn Peall about her expertise on a topic that lies at the heart of her work: Myoclonus dystonia. We'll hear her insights on both the motor and non-motor challenges faced by patients, and how deep brain stimulation is reshaping treatment possibilities.

In this episode, we explore the role of genetics and genetic testing in the decision-making and outcome of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease with two experts in the field: Dr. David Arkadir and Dr. Saar Anis. This interview is also available in the text format within the MDS Scientific Issues: Read the issue

In this episode, Prof. Marina de Koning-Tijssen interviews Prof. Mark Edwards. Together they delve into both the clinical and electrophysiological aspects of propriospinal myoclonus, and explore the distinguishing features and current treatment options for functional movement disorders.

Dr. Sarah Camargos talks with Prof. Laura Bannach Jardim about how rural living might influence the age at onset of Machado-Joseph disease. Read the article.

Prof. Marina de Koning-Tijssen interviews Dr. Christos Ganos on the differential diagnosis of myoclonus. Dr. Ganos explains how he distinguishes between jerky movements based on clinical history and examination, and discusses the differential diagnosis across various parts of the body.

Dr. Hugo Morales Briceno interviews Prof. David Devos from the University of Lille, France, about the results of the phase 1/2 clinical trial using intracerebroventricular anaerobic dopamine in Parkinson's disease with L-dopa-related complications. Read the article.

Prof. Marina de Koning-Tijssen interviews Professors Anna Latorre and Shabbir Merchant on the topic of electrophysiology, with a focus on cortical myoclonus. Together they discuss the potential applications of electrophysiology for myoclonus in clinical practice. They also explore the complex interface between cortical myoclonus and epilepsy.

Dr. Michele Matarazzo interviews Prof. Irena Rektorová about her recent study on early changes in the locus coeruleus in mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies. Using neuromelanin-sensitive MRI, the study reveals selective vulnerability of the caudal locus coeruleus and its association with specific cognitive and other nonmotor features. The conversation explores the implications for early diagnosis, the “body-first” hypothesis, and the potential role of NM-MRI as a biomarker. Read the article.

Prof. Marina de Koning-Tijssen interviews Prof. John Caviness on the topic of myoclonus, focusing on its new classification and treatment. They discuss the long-awaited recently published classification of myoclonus and explore the latest treatment options.

On this special World Parkinson's Day episode, Dr. Michele Matarazzo is joined by John Dean—speech-language pathologist and Chair of the MDS Allied Health Professionals Group—to explore the essential roles of care partners, allied health professionals, and the broader Parkinson's community. From physiotherapists to family members, we shine a light on the many people who support those living with Parkinson's disease every day. World Parkinson's Day

Dr. Sara Schaefer discusses with Dr. Michelle Fullard the similarities and differences in how men and women with Parkinson's disease approach the decision of whether or not to undergo deep brain stimulation. Read the article.

In this episode, Dr. Michele Matarazzo interviews Prof. Tom Foltynie about the recently published phase 3 clinical trial of exenatide as a disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson's disease in The Lancet. While the findings were disappointing, ongoing post-hoc analyses aim to understand the discrepancy with previous phase 2 results and explore how they might shape the future of exenatide and other GLP-1 agonists in neurodegenerative disorders. Read the article.

Prof. Sarah Camargos interviews Prof. Sun Ju Chung about his recent paper in the Movement Disorders Journal investigating diagnostic and prognostic capabilities of measuring blood mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) for Parkinson's disease. Journal CME is available until March 3, 2026 Read the article.

Dr. Sara Schaefer and Dr. Davide Martino discuss his recent paper exploring the use of transcranial direct current stimulation over the supplementary motor area for the suppression of tics in patients with Tourette Syndrome. Read the article.

There is an important role for cost-effective clinical biomarkers in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Dr. Eduardo de Pablo-Fernández and Dr. Cecilia Tremblay discuss how accurate hyposmia and REM sleep behavior disorder can predict Lewy pathology in a non-selected population using data from the Arizona clinicopathological study on Aging and Neurodegeneration. Read the article.

Dr. Jennifer Eisenhauer joins Dr. Sara Schaefer to discuss her recent article describing a combined therapy approach for adult patient with tics: habit reversal therapy (HRT) + acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). They further discuss what these therapies are, their effect in tics, what is gratifying about working with patients with tics, and next steps to determine efficacy of this approach. Read the article.

Dr. Eduardo de Pablo-Fernández discusses and Dr Tommaso Schirinzi discuss the results of his study evaluating markers of immune response, metabolism, inflammatory regulation and tau levels in blood cells in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). They also discuss how these results contribute to the growing evidence of neuroinflammation contributing to the pathogenesis of PSP. Journal CME is available until October 21, 2025 Read the article.

Dr. Shiro Horisawa discusses the latest clinical trial results on MR-guided focused ultrasound pallidothalamic tractotomy for cervical dystonia. He explores the technique's limitations, future prospects, and how it compares to existing therapeutic options. Read the article.

Dr. Hugo Morales Briceno interviews Prof. Ray Chaudhuri to discuss the real world-use of levodopa subcutaneous infusion in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Chan joins the podcast to discuss the results of their pilot study with Dr. Eduardo De Pablo-Fernández. The study uses a foot vibrotactile stimulation as an external cue for the treatment of freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease. Together they discuss how vibrotactile devices can be implemented in clinical practice. Read the article.

In this episode, Prof. Alexander Münchau talks about how machine learning video-based assessments can be leveraged to quantify tics in Tourette syndrome and how this technology has the potential to assist clinicians in tic detection. Read the article.

In this episode, Dr. Aasef Shaikh and Dr. Ming-Kai Pan give us a virtual guided tour of their labs, particularly discussing what they are presently working on. They further elaborate on how these studies can inform our understanding of tremor physiology and where they believe the field should be heading in order to finally understand tremor origin.

Dr. Michele Matarazzo interviews Dr. Victor Fung, President of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society and lead author of the recent viewpoint published in the Movement Disorders journal. Together, they explore the biological definition and classification of Parkinson's disease, discussing its key insights, future prospects, and the implications of recent advances in the field. Read the article.

In this episode Dr. Ludy Shih briefly describes the current approach to tremor, including pharmacological treatments, botulinum toxin injections and deep brain stimulation. She further dives into the exciting new developments of the past few years and new drugs coming down the pipeline.

In this episode, the two souls at the center of the new tremor classification join the MDS Podcast to discuss what essential tremor is. Listen as Prof. Kailash Bhatia and Prof. Günther Deuschl walk you through their clinical methods and future outlook on essential tremor. Do they agree? Disagree?

Growing evidence suggests a contributory role of tau protein in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease. In this episode, Dr. Eduardo de Pablo-Fernández discusses the potential role of skin tau quantification as a biomarker for Huntington's disease with Dr. Jaime Kulisevsky and Dr. Iñigo Ruiz-Barrio. The authors discuss the results of the recent study correlating skin tau quantification with clinical and radiological data, and the role of skin tau in defining HD subtypes. Read the article.

In this episode Dr. Alfonso Fasano interviews Dr. Petra Schwingenschuh on her approach to tremor in the clinic. She further explains the importance of a good history taking, how to clinically assess tremor of different body parts, and how to diagnose functional tremor.

Dr. Sara Schaefer interviews Dr. Jaclyn Martindale on stigma in the experiences of individuals with pediatric movement disorders and tic disorders. They discuss the reasons behind stigma, types of stigma, and ways that stigma is perpetuated and mitigated in this special episode for World Movement Disorders Day 2024.

Dr. Indu Subramanian shares her view on stigma affecting people with Parkinson's disease, along with some practical tips on how to fight it as doctors and as a society.

Dr. Natasha Fothergill-Misbah discusses stigma in movement disorders with Dr. Sara Schaefer, including the origins, types, and consequences of stigma, and how stigma may be perpetuated and combatted around the world.

Dr. Rick Helmich tells us about the role of functional MRI in understanding the circuits of tremor. The conversation starts with a description of his most famous theory on the pathophysiology of Parkinsonism tremor ('dimmer-switch' hypothesis) and moves towards other forms of tremors, such as dystonic, Holmes and essential and even physiological tremor.

Dr. Anna Latorre is interviewed by Dr. Sara Schaefer about her study exploring the role of transcutaneous spinal cord simulation for suppression of postural tremor in essential tremor, including the potential pathophysiological mechanisms and implications for therapeutic use. Journal CME is available until October 21, 2025 Read the article.

In the introductory episode for the Tremor Special Series, Dr. Elan Louis tells us about the epidemiology of tremor as well as patients' and health care providers' awareness (or lack thereof). He guides us through his journey from when his mentor suggested that he'd look into familial essential tremor to the most important discoveries of the last two decades. Finally he gives us a glimpse of what's about to come and why tremor matters.

Prof. Alessio Di Fonzo shares the results of his award winning, multi-center work examining genetic data from people with early-onset PD in hopes of highlighting the difficulties in interpreting genetic variants emerging from NGS-multigene panels. Read the article.

Dr. Hannah E. Reese and Mr. W. Alan Brown discuss their pilot study of a mindfulness-based group virtual intervention for tic disorders, that was co-developed with patients. Read the article.

Dr. Alexander Lehn breaks down functional movement disorders; what is happening in the brain, what are the potential risk factors and what future treatments and clinical trials we have to look forward to.

Prof. Brit Mollenhauer shares her excitement about basic science, including biomarker research, and how she believes MDS's diversity can help foster more collaboration between clinicians and basic scientists.

Prof. Michael Zech takes a dive into his talk on gene discovery in dystonia. He explains how new findings can provide insight into the pathophysiology of dystonia and improve patient care and treatment.

Dr. Kishore Kumar shares the new genes associated with Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and ataxia. He also shares how new technologies, like long read sequencing, can assist in finding epigenetic changes.

Dr. Victor Fung sat down with Dr. Michele Matarazzo at the #mdscongress to reflect on the advice from his predecessors and how that is helping him achieve his goals as MDS President.

Dr. Aesef Shaikh shares the exciting developments in the world of tremor and how he believes the use of technology will help answer some of the field's big questions, including the personalization of treatment.

Dr. Günter Höglinger discusses new genetic findings and other exciting research surrounding PSP and other atypical parkinsonisms.

Alpha-synuclein based biomarkers have dominated the Parksinon's disease field over the past few years. Dr. Andrew Siderowf shares his views on the future of these biomarkers and what else the field may have in store.

Prof. Jeffrey Kordower shares the data in support of #PD being a copathology disease and what strategies may be in the future for protein aggregate clearance in age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

The last full day of #mdscongress 2024 was packed full of sessions and other activities. Prof. Huw Morris dives into the learnings from the day and recollects the excitement surrounding the much-loved Video Challenge.

Informative plenaries, exciting grand rounds and a historical faculty dinner filled the third day of the #mdscongress. Prof. Irena Rektorova shares her favorite moments and key takeaways.

The second day of #mdscongress was filled with various sessions and activities, including the presidential lectures & networking events. Dr. Michiko Bruno shares her appreciation for MDS camaraderie, and which sessions caught her eye.

The first day of the #mdscongress has come to a close. Listen as Dr. Davide Martino recalls the exciting topics discussed in the plenaries; including treatment for early PD, device aided therapies, dystonia and tremor.

Award Replay: Dr. Eduardo Fernandez interviews Professor Günther Deuschl and Dr. Robin Wolke on their article on the challenges levodopa poses when predicting the outcome of subthalamic deep brain stimulation — which was recently named the Movement Disorders Clinical Practice journal Research Article of the Year. Read the article

Dr. Sara Schaefer interviews Dr. Jennifer Goldman about her systematic review and meta-analysis on subjective cognitive complaints in Parkinson's disease, including the prevalence, epidemiology, and correlation with objective cognitive findings and neuropsychiatric disease. The article was recently named the Movement Disorders journal Review Article of the Year.