March 1, 2002

The open house was held at the center's new MGH location on WACC 835. Partners leadership — including Samuel O. Thier, MD, president and chief executive officer of Partners; George E. Thibault, MD, Partners vice president for Clinical Affairs; and James J. Mongan, MD, president of the MGH — joined with John Growdon, MD, director of the new center, to welcome Partners staff and patients at the open house.

Parkinson's is caused by damage to a part of the brain that helps to regulate movement. Most frequently occurring in patients 60 years of age and older, the disease is characterized by tremors in the hands, muscle stiffness, slow movement and loss of balance.

Affecting approximately 800,000 Americans, Parkinson's usually is treated with drugs that mimic dopamine, a chemical that conducts signals in the brain and is reduced in Parkinson's patients.

According to Growdon, the center not only combines the expertise of the movement disorder units from the MGH and BWH, but also provides links to other Partners-affiliated hospitals that offer Parkinson's-related treatment and care — primarily Newton-Wellesley Hospital and North Shore Medical Center.

Pictured above, from left, Thier; Anne Young, MD, chief of MGH Neurology; Thibault; Mongan; Martin Samuels, MD, chair of BWH Neurology; and Growdon.

"We have a three-fold mission for the center," says Growdon. "Our goals are to offer accurate diagnoses of Parkinson's disease and related conditions; to provide continuing care for patients with such disorders; and to implement much-needed research into the cause and prevention of these kinds of diseases, as well as evaluating new treatments." The center also will focus on movement disorders such as Huntington's disease, dystonia and ataxia.

In addition to a core group of MGH and BWH neurologists, the new center will offer access to other medical professional staff, including an expert in physical and rehabilitation medicine, a nurse practitioner, a nutritionist and physical, occupational and speech therapists. The center is collaborating with Partners Home Care to provide services to homebound patients. Assessment and referrals for surgical treatments, which can reduce symptoms and alleviate medication side effects for some patients, also will be available at the new center.

For more information, call Allie Anderson at (617) 726-5532.