Parkinson Weekly

🎙️ In Episode 41 of Parkinson Weekly, Prof. Bas Bloem opens the Helpdesk once again to answer questions submitted by listeners. In this fourth Helpdesk episode, Bas explores three very different but important topics. He begins with women and Parkinson’s, discussing the menstrual cycle, menopause, hormone replacement therapy and pregnancy, and why women with Parkinson’s may require more individuali...

In Episode 40 of Parkinson Weekly, Prof. Bas Bloem explores what he describes as one of the most exciting and encouraging developments in Parkinson’s clinical research: multi-arm, multi-stage (MAMS) clinical trial platforms . As our understanding of the biological processes underlying Parkinson’s disease continues to grow, so too does the number of potential treatments that could target these mech...

🎙️ We’re back with the 39th episode of Parkinson Weekly , hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem - on this week’s episode, Prof. Bas Bloem explores an intriguing new approach to one of the most common challenges faced by people with Parkinson’s disease: poor sleep . Could something as simple as blue light therapy make a difference? Prof. Bloem discusses a recent placebo-controlled study investigating blue ligh...

🎙️ We’re back with the 38th episode of Parkinson Weekly , hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem — and the third instalment of the Parkinson Weekly Helpdesk . In Episode 38 of Parkinson Weekly , Professor Bas Bloem returns with the third Helpdesk episode , answering questions submitted by listeners from around the world. This week, Bas explores the important relationship between Parkinson’s and the gut , inclu...

🎙️ We’re back with Episode 37 of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. On this week’s episode of Parkinson Weekly , recorded live at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress in Geneva, Prof. Bas Bloem discusses advanced treatment options for people with Parkinson’s experiencing complex response fluctuations. Prof. Bloem explores why the term “advanced therapies” may itself create a...

🎙️ Parkinson Weekly – Episode 36 In Episode 36 of Parkinson Weekly , Prof. Bas Bloem explores one of the most overlooked reasons why oral Parkinson’s medications can become unreliable: the gut . Drawing on his presentation at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress in Geneva, Prof. Bloem explains why fluctuating symptoms are not always caused by disease progression alone. While predictabl...

🎙️ We’re back with Episode 35 of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. Recorded live at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress in Geneva, this special episode sees Prof. Bas Bloem reflect on his C. David Marsden Award Lecture, entitled “What to do, if even David Marsden would not have a clue”. Prof. Bloem explores how clinicians can approach particularly challenging movement disor...

🎙️ We’re back with Episode 34 of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 34 of Parkinson Weekly, “Pesticides Callout!” , Prof. Bas Bloem delivers a powerful call to action regarding proposed changes to European pesticide regulations. Prof. Bloem explores concerns surrounding the current omnibus proposal, particularly the possibility that real-world evidence may no longer be conside...

🎙️ We’re back with episode 33 of Parkinson Weekly , hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 33 of Parkinson Weekly , Prof. Bas Bloem discusses a newly published multidisciplinary allied health guideline for people living with Parkinson’s disease. Published in Parkinsonism and Related Disorders , the guideline introduces an innovative, problem-orientated approach to Parkinson’s care, moving beyond tr...

🎙️ We’re back with episode 32 of Parkinson Weekly , hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 32 of Parkinson Weekly , Prof. Bas Bloem returns with the third Parkinson Weekly Helpdesk , answering three insightful questions from listeners. This episode explores the fascinating relationship between art, dopamine, creativity, and brain function, including how art may support wellbeing in Parkinson’s dise...

🎙️ We’re back with episode 31 of Parkinson Weekly , hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 31 of Parkinson Weekly , Prof. Bas Bloem explores an often overlooked but deeply important aspect of Parkinson’s disease: shame. Discussing a thought-provoking new paper published in Movement Disorders Clinical Practice , Bas examines how feelings of shame can significantly affect the lives of people living w...

🎙️ We’re back with episode 30 of Parkinson Weekly , hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 30, Prof. Bas Bloem explores orthostatic hypotension — the significant drop in blood pressure that can occur when standing up, commonly affecting people with Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy. This debilitating condition can lead to fainting, falls, fatigue, and the so-called “twilight zone” of...

🎙️ We’re back with the twenty-ninth episode of Parkinson Weekly , hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem — and the second instalment of the Parkinson Weekly Helpdesk . In this episode, Prof. Bloem answers three new listener questions covering some of the most talked-about topics in Parkinson’s care. He explores the role of diet and the gut , offering practical advice on nutrition, constipation, and how these m...

🎙️ We’re back with the twenty-eighth episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Bas Bloem. In Episode 28, we introduce a brand-new segment — the Parkinson Weekly Helpdesk — where Prof. Bloem answers listener-submitted questions from across the global Parkinson’s community. Following an overwhelming response, this new format tackles three key questions per episode, offering practical, evidence-based in...

🎙️ We’re back with the twenty-seventh episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 27, Prof. Bloem explores an intriguing and under-researched question in Parkinson’s disease: can temperature influence symptoms? Inspired by a 2024 study published in Parkinsonism and Related Disorders by Nahid Mohammadzadeh & Joseph Friedman the episode examines how exposure to cold may wo...

🎙️ We’re back with the twenty-sixth episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 26, Prof. Bloem explores a thought-provoking shift in how we understand Parkinson’s disease progression. Inspired by a 2024 study published in Brain by Martin Johansson and colleagues, the episode examines whether we may have been focusing too heavily on the substantia nigra — and overlooking the...

🎙️ We’re back with the twenty-five episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 25, Prof. Bloem explores the complex and evolving role of diet in the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease . Inspired by a recent study published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease (2026) by Angelo Gigante and colleagues, the episode examines how different dietary patterns may influence Parki...

🎙️ We’re back with the twenty-fourth episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 24 , Prof. Bas Bloem discusses an important and often overlooked topic in Parkinson’s care: spirituality . Inspired by a recent paper published in Neurology Clinical Practice (2026) by Dr Indu Subramanian and colleagues , the episode explores how spirituality — the search for meaning, purpose, a...

🎙️ We’re back with the twenty third episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In Episode 23 of Parkinson Weekly , Prof. Bas Bloem explores the phenomenon of response fluctuations , where the benefits and side effects of oral Parkinson’s medications vary throughout the day. Rather than focusing on a single new study, this episode revisits several influential papers that have reshaped...

 🎙️ We’re back with the twenty second episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In this episode, Bas explores the role of gene–environment interactions in Parkinson’s disease, examining why some individuals develop Parkinson’s following environmental exposure while others do not. Discussing a recent study published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease , he reviews new evidence linki...

🎙️ We’re back with the twenty first episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In this episode, Bas explores a surprising and often overlooked question: is hearing loss part of the Parkinson’s disease phenotype? Discussing a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Movement Disorders, he highlights compelling evidence that hearing impairment is common in Parkinson’s — aff...

🎙️ We’re back with the twentieth episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In this episode, Bas discusses Exploring the impact of Parkinson’s disease on driving: a population-based survey , a large real-world study examining how Parkinson’s affects driving ability, licence retention, and conversations between patients and healthcare professionals. Driving is closely tied to independe...

🎙️ We’re back with the nineteenth episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In this episode, Bas shines a light on an often overlooked aspect of Parkinson’s disease: cognitive challenges and the practical “detours” people use to navigate them in daily life . He pays tribute to the late Marina Noordegraaf — artist, advocate, and person with Parkinson’s — whose pioneering work helped m...

🎙️ We’re back with the eighteenth episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. In this episode, Bas discusses new evidence on an old drug : amantadine. He reviews the PREMANDYSK study, a large multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial conducted across 15 specialist centres in France and published in Movement Disorders , which investigated whether early use of amantadine can dela...

🎙️ We’re back with the seventeenth episode of Parkinson Weekly , hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem. Bas discusses the Article of the Week : Incidence and Spatial Variation of Parkinson’s Disease in the Netherlands in 2017–2022 , published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe . He breaks down the study’s innovative methodology, which used multiple national data sources to map new Parkinson’s cases across...