Betty Anna’s background includes:

• Graduate of the University of Alberta BS, RDH

• U.C.L.A. Expanded Functions in Periodontal Treatment

• Multi-Lingual-French, Spanish & Italian WLAC-RDHAP 2012

• RDHAP-Degree Specializing in Geriatric Care
- Homebound Patients
- Nursing Home Facility Patients
- Board & Care Facility Patients

Betty Anna provides patients, in the privacy of their own home, or care facility, with the most current dental hygiene treatments available today.  Preventive dental hygiene services are also available bedside or by wheelchair.

One of the most important attributes of Betty Anna is compassion for each individual patient. Betty Anna takes pride in treating each patient in the most comfortable and caring manner possible, and looks forward to helping each patient achieve a lifetime of healthy and natural teeth.

Betty Anna Gidlof, RDH, RDHAP
Brite Smiles of California, Inc
Specializing in Home-bound and Residential Care
Phone: 760-625-3708
Website: britesmilesofcalifornia.com

The science firm has moved into its new space and continues its mission on “THE ROAD TO CURE PARKINSON’S” with its exciting report. We’re chock full this month with the following articles: CAN YOU GET LASTING TMD RELIEF FROM SPECIAL HEADBANDS?                       The following article is a MUST read for those qualifying for Medicare IS YOUR DOCTOR LEAVING THE MEDICARE PROGRAM? PLANNING FOR HEALTH CARE

Parkinson’s manifests itself in so many ways, many are subtle:  NOT JUST TREMOR: RECOGNIZING DEPRESSION AND OTHER NON-MOTOR SYMPTOMS OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE and OTHER NON-MOTOR SYMPTOMS OF PARKINSON’S.

Two articles I am sure you will find very interesting are USING YOUR SMARTPHONE TO TREAT YOUR TMD?  and  GREEN TEA

The TOP 10QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE HIRING A HOME CARE AGENCY by Kerry Gross of Senior Helpers of The Desert offers a helpful checklist and guideline for anyone considering home health care.

On behalf of everyone benefiting from our efforts, we thank ALL OF YOU who have made donations, keeping our work flourishing. We urge you to continue. Please donate online through our secure website at ParkinsonsResource.org/contribute.

Until next month REMEMBER to celebrate May Day on the 1st, Cinco De Mayo on the 5th, National Teacher Day on the 7th, Mother’s Day on the 12th, Armed Forces Day on the 18th  and Memorial Day on the 27th. CELEBRATE YOU and PRAY FOR OUR TROOPS!

We are happy to be in our new office and laboratory space continuing on our mission “Road to the Cure.” For a better understanding of this update, you may want to refer to the earlier updates in the PRO Monthly newsletter.

Our current update follows:
Van Andel Institute-SDBC Parkinson’s Collaboration

A Principal Investigator from Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, visited the SDBC for three days in the first week of April. During his visit for treating patients, we outlined scientific experiments in Parkinson’s-like transgenic mice to be conducted at the institute with the SDBC’s potential drug, alpha-Synuclein Picobody. The objective of this collaboration is to study pharmacokinetics (sometimes abbreviated as PK, a branch of pharmacology dedicated to the determination of the fate of substances administered externally to a living organism) and biodistribution (a method of tracking where compounds of interest travel in an experimental animal or human subject) of the potential drug in alpha-synuclein transgenic mice. The bottleneck in these experiments, however, is the generation of transgenic mice, which we bought from the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Currently, we are in the process of breeding transgenic (Tg) mice. As soon as we have generated 90 alpha-synuclein Tg mice, which may take up to six months of time, we will begin our study at the Van Andel Institute.
We are in the process of purifying needed amounts of alpha-syn picobody for the proposed studies at Van Andel Institute.

Fund Raising Efforts for the alpha-synuclein project
-  We submitted a grant to NIH on April 3, 2013.
-  We are also in the process of submitting a grant application to The Cure Parkinson’s Trust, UK.
As we are expanding our mouse colonies, the cost of these programs is escalating every day:
1)  Our monthly expense for vivarium room rental is $2,700;
2)  In addition to the room rental charges, each mouse cage costs $3 per day. Currently we have 27 mouse cages, which amount to $81 per day or $2430 per month and;
3) This expense will increase as we expand our mouse colonies.

LRRK2 Program
We have successfully generated a very specific mutant LRRK2 picobody, which does not cross-react with the wild type LRRK2.
In order to purify these antibodies, we need to purchase at least 20 mg each of the mutant and wild-type LRRK2 proteins. The best price we can obtain is from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA): $9450 per mg. Basically, each of these proteins will cost us about $200,000 with state taxes. We have approached the Michael J. Fox Foundation to seek help for funding and set up possible collaborations with their scientists to generate the needed amount of recombinant LRRK2 proteins.
Parkinson’s Resource Organization appreciates having been the first Parkinson’s Organization introduced to this life-changing science. It needs people to bring it to fruition. The following figure will describe the specificity of our mutant and LRRK2 picobodies:

Being a part of this historic, humanitarian effort requires an investment. If you have Parkinson’s, it may be an investment in your life. If you don’t have Parkinson’s, it would be an investment in humanity. Please get in touch with Jo Rosen at Parkinson’s Resource Organization who will gladly introduce you to the right parties for making your investment possible. The only impediment to getting to the human side of this science is funding. The sooner the funds are raised, the sooner human clinical trials can begin. If funding had happened a year ago January, this science would probably be at or nearing human clinical trials today. If funding happens a year from now, you might expect clinical trials two years from now. It’s all in the funding.

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?” The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying:  “Just take care of my eyes dear.”

This is how the human brain changes when status changes. Only few remember what life was before, and who’s always been there even in the most painful situations.

by Kerry Goss, Senior Helpers of The Desert

While finding a caregiver on your own may initially appear to be less expensive, the cost difference becomes negligible when time, taxes, insurance and your security are factored in. When considering hiring a caregiver to help with services in your home, make sure you know the facts. The decision to hire a caregiver can be overwhelming, so it is helpful to have experienced professionals guide you through the process. Being well-informed and relying on experts to coordinate the selection of highly-qualified and compatible caregivers can reduce your stress, ensure the quality of care and safety you expect, save you money, and protect you from potential legal problems and financial responsibility.

1. Are your workers bonded and insured in case of injury or theft?

• The company you want to work with must have extensive insurance, including Professional and General Liability, Non-Owned Auto, a Dishonesty Bond, and Worker’s Compensation policies.

2. How extensive are your criminal background and reference checks?

• It is important that the agency not only run a check on their caregiver’s last job but also on all the places they’ve lived for at least the last five years. It must be thorough and should include checks for elder abuse, sexual offenses, arrest records, DUI’s, etc.

3. What are your interviewing and hiring practices?

• It is essential an agency have more than one meeting or interview with an employee prior to sending them to your loved one’s home. This affords the opportunity to gain better insights into the employee’s motivations and reliability.

4. Does your company have ongoing supervision of and training for the caregiving staff?

• Supervisors can help a caregiver identify safety hazards, observe special diets, establish hygiene standards, and more. Ongoing training enhances job performance and quality of care delivered, which results in a better care experience for you or your loved one.

5. How do you select your employees?

• Make sure you choose an agency that sets high standards in its hiring policies and considers factors such as demeanor and professionalism when hiring their employees. It’s essential to feel comfortable with the caliber of person providing care in the home.

6. Can you send me information describing your services and fees?

• A reputable agency will provide detailed, easy to understand information for your review that describes rates, available services, and any or all fees. You should also be able to drop by their business office to meet the office staff personally.

7. What is your caregiver replacement policy or guarantee?

• A good agency will give you as many replacements as needed, whenever needed and have back-up coverage available. We maintain regular contact with both clients and caregivers to ensure satisfaction.

8. Can we set up a time to meet to discuss the details of my care needs?

• A reputable company will always send a representative to the residence where care will be provided for a complimentary, no obligation consultation at your convenience. This affords you the opportunity to get your questions answered and ensure you are comfortable with the agency.

9. Does my loved one get to meet the caregiver before starting service?

• A good quality home care agency should personally introduce the caregiver to ensure the customized plan is reviewed, introductions go smoothly and ensures the caregiver clearly understands expectations.

10. What happens if we decide to discontinue services?

• A home care agency should ask for no more than two weeks notice to end services. The agency should be willing to waive notice should the client die or be admitted to the hospital.

Chronic pain is a big problem in America, where medications often cause more harm than good. Right now, doctors and state governments are struggling to combat a growing epidemic of prescription pain medication abuse. Unfortunately, over-the-counter drugs are also causing problems; in fact, right now, acetaminophen toxicity is the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S.

In search of non-medicinal remedies for chronic pain, researchers are busy testing all sorts of alternative treatments including yoga, acupuncture, massage and more. Recently, a group of Norwegian researchers sought to evaluate the efficacy of technological intervention as a way to treat unrelenting pain. Unfortunately, their study didn’t offer much hope.

Smartphone-Based Intervention

Researchers out of the Department of Behavioral Sciences in Medicine at the University of Oslo in Norway recently conducted a study which used so-called smartphone-based intervention in an attempt to reduce chronic pain. Appearing in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the study involved 140 Norwegian women who suffered from chronic widespread pain. While all of the subjects received cognitive pain therapy, half also received extra support via smartphones provided by the researchers. This extra support included face-to-face therapy sessions via smartphone app, extra written communication and journaling activities that offered subjects an opportunity to reflect on pain-related feelings, thoughts and activities.

After 11 weeks, however, both groups reported similar results, despite one having the extra technological-based therapy.

Getting Real About Pain

Sometimes, emotional problems and stress can enhance pain in certain people. That said, the vast majority of the time, chronic pain stems from an actual physical problem, which demands an effective physical treatment.

If you suffer from pain related to temporomandibular joint disorder, any sort of cognitive therapy isn’t likely to provide much relief. Instead, you need a treatment that works by focusing on the source of your problem: your misaligned bite. To learn more about Dr. Stephen M. Winber visit our Wellness Village website at ParkinsonsResource.org/spotlight/dr-stephen-m-winber-dds-mps/

The main antioxidant in green tea could be a potent way to prevent Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, according to research done by Prof. Moussa Youdim and Dr. Silvia Mandel, co-director of the Parkinson Foundation Centers at the Technion.

The substance, EGCG, can enter brain cells and keep neurons from dying. Mandel found that even after many neurons have already been damaged, the green tea antioxidant is capable of rescuing the remaining healthy ones. If taken in moderation, she suggests, green tea may be part of both a prevention and anti-progression strategy.

People like boxing legend Muhammad Ali and actor Michael J. Fox have helped to deepen the understanding of Parkinson’s disease as a movement disorder. Ali shows the most conspicuous symptoms of Parkinson’s; a slow, shuffling gait, rigid movements, hand tremors, and an expressionless face. Fox, on the other hand, shows many common side effects of treatment for the disease; dyskinesias—which are involuntary movements that produce rocking—unintended facial expressions, and random arm motion.

The motor symptoms of Parkinson’s—those related to movement—develop when a portion of the brain known as the substantia nigra stops producing enough of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which makes normal movement possible. But Parkinson’s also causes an array of non-motor problems. These symptoms may elude detection by doctors and even by patients themselves. Many of these symptoms seem to affect the mind more than the body; in reality, they illustrate the intimate connection between the mind and the body. For example, depression, anxiety, irritability, and social withdrawal are all recognized now as non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s. Experts believe they are caused not by the person’s reactions to having Parkinson’s but by the disease itself and how it changes the physical brain. Because so many non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s can be attributed to other causes, such as aging, stroke, or other neurologic disorders, it’s important for patients and caregivers to inform their neurologist about any changes in mood, attitude, and behavior, says Christopher G. Goetz, M.D., professor of neurological sciences and pharmacology and director of the Parkinson and Movement Disorders program at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL, and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).“Patients and caregivers feel the burden of these non-motor symptoms,” Dr. Goetz says. “In my experience, they are relieved to find that the lack of energy, loss of endurance, and cognitive problems are part of Parkinson’s itself. It means that these symptoms are not the patient’s fault, nor are they part of another, separate disease the person has to contend with.”

OTHER NON-MOTOR SYMPTOMS OF PARKINSON’S

Many of the other non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s may be overlooked as well. For example, the loss of the ability to smell is often an early symptom of Parkinson’s. In addition, people with PD frequently develop sleep problems, such as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep disorder, in which the normal paralysis that takes place during deep sleep fails. This causes sleepers to thrash about as they act out their dreams. Memory problems may develop in some people with Parkinson’s, along with difficulties in concentrating, problem solving, multitasking, and planning. These changes may be dismissed as the inevitabilities of aging or a reaction to the stress of having a chronic illness. Such problems, even when subtle, can have serious consequences. “I’ve had patients who are doctors and lawyers who can’t continue to work because of their cognitive impairment,” Dr. Kluger says. Problems with the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for involuntary muscle function, may also accompany Parkinson’s and produce symptoms such as constipation, urinary incontinence, sweating, erectile dysfunction, and low blood pressure (hypotension)—symptoms often blamed on aging. Many patients also experience trouble swallowing. Even the treatments for Parkinson’s can cause non-motor symptoms. Treatments that restore dopamine function in Parkinson’s patients have been known to produce behaviors easily mistaken as character flaws, such as compulsive gambling and eating, excessive shopping and spending, sexual promiscuity, and Othello syndrome—the conviction, despite lack of evidence, that one’s partner is having sex with other people.

Health care is one facet of planning for the future for older Americans. Members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys are well qualified to help you plan for legal, financial, medical, and health care matters. Long-term care choices, decision making in the event of incapacity, guardianships, and conservatorships are a few areas where an Elder Law attorney goes beyond traditional estate planning.

“Uncertainty about Medicare changes is unsettling. NAELA is working with Congress to preserve Medicare for current and future older Americans and persons with disabilities. NAELA members can help their clients receive health care now and in the future,” said NAELA President Gregory S. French, CELA, CAP.

Parkinson’s Resource Organization is beginning its campaign to populate its WELLNESS VILLAGE ELDER LAW ATTORNEY category ParkinsonsResource.org/elder-law/. We urge you to check in often.

by Dr. Kevin Berry, DDS, TMJ Therapy and Sleep Center of Colorado.

TMJ disorder causes trying symptoms that make life nearly unbearable. Because temporomandibular joint disorder is so debilitating, sufferers are often pushed toward surgical procedures that make permanent changes to bone and tissue within the jaw joint. Since they are afraid of painful, invasive surgery, many TMD patients are willing to give holistic treatments a try. Unfortunately, numerous companies have taken advantage of this desperation by offering gimmicky products that don’t address the source cause of TMJ disorder.

Special Headbands

A company called Holistic Technologies recently issued a press release to help market a product that supposedly relieves TMD symptoms. Called “biofeedback headbands,” these products are supposed to promote behavior modification through conditioning strategies based on auditory signals. According to Holistic Technologies, users are supposed to wear the headbands while they sleep. During this time, the headband is supposed to monitor a user’s temples for flexing which serves to indicate jaw clenching. When it senses this flexing, the device emits an unpleasant sound that signals the user to cease this activity, which the company blames for common TMD symptoms, such as jaw pain, tooth pain, neck pain and headaches.

A Reasonable Solution?

Unfortunately for people who suffer from TMJ disorder, biofeedback headbands aren’t a reasonable solution for treating their debilitating symptoms. It doesn’t take a genius to see that intermittent noises have the power to disrupt a person’s sleep. Additionally, besides causing sleep deprivation, this holistic treatment isn’t likely to prevent jaw clenching when a user is unconscious. Finally, biofeedback headbands aren’t likely to offer any long-term TMD relief, because they don’t address the main source of TMJ disorder: a bad bite.

Getting Long-term Relief

Holistic TMD remedies, such as yoga, massage, acupuncture and biofeedback headbands, are all similar in one key way: they don’t have the power to offer long-term relief, because they don’t correct a sufferer’s bite problems. On the other hand, Dr. Berry offers his patients long-term relief from TMJ disorder by correcting their misaligned bites. To learn more, visit Dr. Stephen M. Winber and Dr. Kevin S. Berry – Crainiofacial Diagnostic on our Wellness Village website at ParkinsonsResource.org/spotlight/dr-stephen-m-winber-dds-mps/