Posted on November 11, 2004 at 9:05 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Dr. Ray Watts, professor and chair of the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) department of neurology, will be the keynote speaker at the Parkinson’s Association of Alabama meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 21, at UAB’s Marshall Conference Center, 802 11th Street South. The meeting is free and open to the public. Watts, who came to UAB in 2003, is an internationally recognized expert in Parkinson’s disease.

The Parkinson's Association of Alabama, founded in 1978, has a long history of collaboration with UAB. The association worked to obtain funding for UAB research into Parkinson’s disease from the Alabama legislature from 1995-2003. The arrival of Watts has led to an explosive growth in research and clinical care initiatives at the UAB Parkinson’s Disease Research Center.

In 2003, the National Institutes of Health named the center one of 41 nationwide to conduct clinical trials assessing safety and efficacy of medical strategies designed to increase and enhance treatment options for patients with Parkinson's disease. Watts had previously been the leading architect of the internationally renowned Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Research and Clinical Center at Emory University.

Several new options for patients with early and advanced disease are currently being investigated at UAB, while other therapeutic studies are targeting symptoms of the disease. In addition, center researchers are involved in studies of a possible hereditary component of the disorder and potential disease markers in unaffected family members of those with Parkinson’s.

The Parkinson’s Association of Alabama provides support for patients, caregivers and families of those with Parkinson’s disease. The organization helps to establish local support groups throughout the state, funds clinical and basic science research and provides durable goods and medications to patients with financial needs.