Division of Movement Disorders
Research
The USF Health Byrd Parkinson's Disease & Movement Disorders Center has been involved in the evaluation and development of new medication and surgical procedures for Parkinson's Disease. Multiple independent and sponsored studies are conducted at our center. Dr. Hauser has been at the helm of Parkinson’s discovery for several decades now, charting a bold course into the unknown of an incurable condition – through research, innovation and seeking enhanced treatments.
New formulation of Parkinson’s medication offers hope for patients
The findings by Dr. Hauser and colleagues were recently published in JAMA Neurology, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Medical Association. At the core is a novel method of boosting decreased dopamine levels with an extended-release formulation of the existing medication – carbidopa-levodopa.
“In Parkinson’s Disease, people are losing neurons in the brain that make dopamine,” said the professor of Neurology in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “Once they’ve lost 50 percent of those neurons and the chemical dopamine is reduced by half, they develop motor signs of Parkinson’s – slow and small movements, stiffness and tremors.”
Learn more about the USF Health Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders Center New Formulation of Parkinson’s Medication.