February 11, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -  It takes more than medicine to successfully cope with Parkinson's disease, and experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are joining forces with the Davis Phinney Foundation to help the 1.5 million Americans with Parkinson's maintain a better quality of life.

The foundation, created by cycling legend Davis Phinney, has produced Every Victory Counts, a program on living well with Parkinson's. The cornerstone of the program is a progressive, interactive manual designed to inform and inspire people to live well with Parkinson's and take a more active role in managing their disease.

David Standaert, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology at UAB and a leading national expert on Parkinson's, is a content contributor to the manual. Standaert is the director of UAB's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Research Program.

David Standaert. Download image.

"The Every Victory Counts manual is an important resource, as it provides as unprecedented collection of strategies and techniques to engage and empower people with Parkinson's," said Standaert. "These resources are presented in a well-organized, easy-to-understand and easy-to-use format."

In a new twist on traditional medical resource books, the Every Victory Counts manual is a personal, updateable tracker and portable companion that will be of constant value over the course of the disease.  In addition to covering the medical aspects of living well with Parkinson's through leading movement disorder experts, the most powerful lessons of the Every Victory Counts manual come from more than 50 people with Parkinson's who share their stories with encouragement and humor.  The manual also is highly interactive, with more than 15 worksheets and a three-ring binder format that enables users to include articles of interest, medical reports and information from medical visits.

The manual contains information on the surprising exercises that best protect the body and can slow progression of Parkinson's, including dancing the Tango and tandem biking. It offers advice on diet, how to strengthen emotional health, enjoy intimacy with love and humor and offers practical advice and perspective from Phinney, Michael J. Fox and others affected by Parkinson's.

Recipients of the Every Victory Counts manual also will receive quarterly manual updates, DVDs highlighting new research presented at the Davis Phinney Foundation's Victory Summit series of symposia and an inspirational video by Davis Phinney. The Every Victory Counts program is available for a donation of $22.50 and can be ordered online at www.everyvictorycounts.org or by calling 1-877-279-5277. All manual proceeds will support Davis Phinney Foundation-funded Parkinson's research and educational programs.

About the UAB Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Research Program

The Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Research Program provides leading edge, comprehensive clinical care and conducts research to discover causes and treatments for Parkinson's disease and other neurological movement disorders. The program also works to better educate health care professionals and the public on Parkinson's disease.

About the Davis Phinney Foundation

The Davis Phinney Foundation was created in 2004 by cycling legend Davis Phinney. Davis Phinney remains the race leader in victories by an American cyclist, and he is a two-time Tour de France stage winner and U.S. Olympic Bronze medalist. The Davis Phinney Foundation funds research focused on exercise, speech and other quality of life therapies, hosts a series of symposia that present research and programs that demonstrate the benefits of these therapies and encourages those impacted by the disease to celebrate the daily victories in their lives.