Parkinson’s Awareness Month isn’t over yet! This month-long effort is capped off by the Parkinson’s Unity Walk, which takes place Saturday, April 28th, in New York City’s Central Park. The largest grassroots awareness event for Parkinson’s disease (PD), the Unity Walk is anticipated to attract more than 10,000 participants. If you’ve never attended something of… Continue reading Six Days Until the Parkinson’s Unity Walk
A Day in the Life of PatientsLikeMe Research Scientist Timothy Vaughan
What’s it like to work at PatientsLikeMe? We are continuing to reveal just that with our monthly blog series “A Day in the Life,” which features employees from different departments. So far, we’ve interviewed User Experience Engineer Cris Necochea, Research Assistant Shivani Bhargava and Office Manager Alison Dutton. Today we hear from Research Scientist Timothy Vaughan,… Continue reading A Day in the Life of PatientsLikeMe Research Scientist Timothy Vaughan
PatientsLikeMe Named One of Lead411’s “Hottest Companies in Boston”
Is it getting hot in here? Earlier this month, corporate research firm Lead411 announced its 2012 “Hottest Companies in Boston” awards, which recognize the fastest growing technology companies in the Boston area. The award selection process started with over 1,776 companies and was narrowed down to the top 62. We were one of them! Headquartered… Continue reading PatientsLikeMe Named One of Lead411’s “Hottest Companies in Boston”
Spotlighted Blogger: Psoriasis Patient Alisha B. of “Being Me in My Own Skin”
Welcome to the latest installment of our “Spotlighted Blogger” series. So far, we’ve interviewed patient bloggers living with gastroparesis, type I diabetes, bipolar I disorder, Parkinson’s disease and ALS, and today we introduce Alisha B., who felt alone in her struggles with psoriasis until “coming out” on her blog, Being Me in My Own Skin. Alisha is currently participating in… Continue reading Spotlighted Blogger: Psoriasis Patient Alisha B. of “Being Me in My Own Skin”
Recognizing Autism Awareness Month
Have you seen the awareness ribbon with the puzzle pattern? It’s the symbol for autism awareness, with the puzzle pieces representing the mystery and complexity of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The different colors and shapes also highlight the diversity of families living with this condition, which occurs in 1 in 110 births in the US… Continue reading Recognizing Autism Awareness Month
Making the Impossible Possible: ALS Patient Tony “TEMPT ONE” Quan and the EyeWriter Device
For an ALS patient, an eye gaze system – a type of augmentative speech device that translates eye movements into words – can make it possible to communicate with loved ones when speech is impaired or lost. But as animation studio owner Mick Ebeling found out, not every patient with advanced ALS has one. The… Continue reading Making the Impossible Possible: ALS Patient Tony “TEMPT ONE” Quan and the EyeWriter Device
ALS Patients Reporting Their Health Status over the Internet Just as Reliable as a Clinician in a Hospital
At PatientsLikeMe we’ve been collecting self-reported data about patients with ALS (PALS) since 2006 – over 5,000 PALS to be exact! ALS is a disease that causes muscle wasting in the arms, legs, head and chest, which leads to problems walking, eating, and even communicating. However, unlike a disease like diabetes where there’s a blood… Continue reading ALS Patients Reporting Their Health Status over the Internet Just as Reliable as a Clinician in a Hospital
Preparing for Life After an Organ Transplant
Last week, we shared our interview with a liver transplant recipient who is living out her dreams post-transplant. Today we’d like to add the insights of 32 organ transplant recipients who took part in an online discussion hosted by PatientsLikeMe. Split equally in gender with ages ranging from 25 to 60 years old, our discussion… Continue reading Preparing for Life After an Organ Transplant
Interview with Jim Atwell, Author of “Wobbling Home: A Spiritual Walk with Parkinson’s”
Continuing our coverage of Parkinson’s Awareness Month, we’d like to introduce you to Jim Atwell, a PatientsLikeMe member who has been living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) since 2007. A retired college professor, late-in-life farmer and weekly columnist for his rural newspaper, Jim recently published his second book, Wobbling Home: A Spiritual Walk with Parkinson’s. This… Continue reading Interview with Jim Atwell, Author of “Wobbling Home: A Spiritual Walk with Parkinson’s”
Observing Parkinson’s Awareness Month
Since 2010, April has been designated as Parkinson’s Awareness Month by the US Senate. The goal is to shine a spotlight on the national impact of Parkinson’s disease (PD), which affects more than one million Americans. A progressive disorder of the nervous system, PD is often marked by muscle tremors, muscle rigidity, decreased mobility, stooped… Continue reading Observing Parkinson’s Awareness Month