NYCOM parkinsons research

[basha]

Hi, I was part of the parkinsons research at NYCOM a few years back under Dr. Hallas and just wanted to ask people who are familiar with the type of research to help me out. I have an interview coming up at NYCOM and I'm 100% sure they will be asking me the exact methods and objectives of the research I was involved in and how it can help me better serve patients with parkinsons.

So far, I remember that the specimens were rats and some were normal and some were dx as having parkinsons, which we had concluded after observing the normal and abnormal patterns of motion (rats who were abnormal constantly rotated counter clockwise and some clockwise). We tried to treat the abnormal rats with pharmocologic drugs. Then we took implants from the normal and abnormally functioning rats (from specific parts of the brain by use of surgery), switched the implants and sutured the rats. We also made histology slides for the rats that had failed to resusitate from the srugery.

As for OMT and its effects on the rats, I am not sure how it would play into my research since physical treatment on rats is kind of an impossibility. Although, I am aware OMT can decrease musculoskelatal dysfunction and increase flexibility in parkinsons patients.

Anyway, I am interviewing this week so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

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[DOSouthpaw]

Up at the last AAO Convocation, someone did a presentation about Parkinsons and OMT. Usually if you look at the gate of a Parkinson patient and a normal person, not only is the amplitude of the gate decrease, but it does not match normal gate movement either. This leads to falls, and possible fractures. The research showed that with OMT, amplitude was still decreased in the Parkinson patient, but their gate was more normal. That lead to less falls, and therefore less fractures. You go from a slow unstable walking without OMT to a slow, but stable walking with OMT.

 

[BrooklynDO]

basha, If dr. hallas or any of his dept interview you, knowing the details of the project you worked on may be helpful...try looking it up if it has been published.
Otherwise, in general...doing OMT generally helps muscles but also stimulates nerves to act more in accord with what we consider normal . In general, if you can stimulate a nerve, which innervates a muscle...etc take it from there. I dont know about any particular project but he did mention that omt was done on rats, although i am not sure if it was him or dr. Schmanke, or if they did this together... Because most of his work has to do with the cns...(so i've gathered) you may bring up the possibility of OMT in the cranial field or whatever.... also, as of now, omt is generally used in our clinic to provide for a better quality of life rather than a cure.... you can attack an interview question therefore by going along the lines of improving the specificity of techniques by knowing what you want to stimulate in the cns to make things right...
Im blabbing, hope that made at least some sense... just know what you did, and you will be fine. I doubt anyone expects you to know all the applications of every piece of research you have ever been at all involved in.
good luck.

 

[basha]

Thanks a lot guys. BTW, where exactly would I be able to find current studies relating to Parkinsons-OMT research. I've checked on google and it hasn't given anything specific on this research. If anyone has any information or links, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[paramed2premed]

Google? Oh, man, that's like looking in the periodicals section of your local library, rather than the university medical library.

A very important resource is Pub-Med. Find it at
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez .

It works a little differently than the Google search engine, but it will get you abstracts of anything. Then full text of the article, however, usually requires a subscription to the relevant journal. I was just doing searches of studies on craniosacral therapy.

You know, it seems like most, almost all, studies on OMT and related topics are only found in the JAOA (with the key exception of the back pain study in NEJM). The New England Journal of Medicine has free access to many articles, however. Check out NEJM.org.

P.S. If you want to help the 'gate' of a parkinson's patient, get a carpenter. If you want to improve their gait, however, that is the purview of the neurologist. (I am a spelling / grammar nerd. I apologize.)

 

[DOSouthpaw]

ouch!

 

[paramed2premed]

Yeah, like I said, I'm a nerd. I have no friends. Books are my only friends. I am going into medicine so I have a shot at social approbation, as correcting grammar at the local watering hole has not proven to be a good strategy.

Uh, you aren't running through all my old posts right now, are you?

 

[DOSouthpaw]

Nah, I'm usually a grammer nerd too. Spelling is where I get hammered; thank God for spellchecker!