The Alianza arose in response to the unmet needs of Parkinson’s patients in Latin America. The lack of interdisciplinary teams for accurate diagnosis, the absence of adequate rehabilitation centers, the high cost of medications and the lack of knowledge in general about Parkinson’s disease are factors that prevent a better quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease.
We surveyed the people and organisations that joined our network and the the problem is not lack of resources, although there are deficiencies, the problem is lack of availability or knowledge of those resources.
The Vision of the Alianza is to be a Spanish-speaking network that facilitates the improvement of care of Parkinson’s patients.
The Mission is to unite the Parkinson’s community in a movement to raise awareness about Parkinson’s Disease.
We are an alliance providing opportunities for networking between experts, trainers and community and ultimately awareness raising so that quality of life of people with Parkinson’s can be improved.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Registration of more than 60 members
- We have more than 15 different countries represented
- Over 30 Organisations /Associations
- Creation of a website
- Networking meetings /Educational talks and Webinars
- Co-Principal Investigator and Partner on a Research Project funded by Michael J Fox Foundation (Epidemiology of Parkinson’s Disease in Latin America: Learning from Underrepresented Populations)
We have been represented as Alliance in:
- World Parkinson’s Congress Leadership Summit
- Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center webinars,
- Parkinson’s Life magazine,
- 2 Mikes Parkinson Podcast.
- The First Iberoamericana Conference organized by Give for a Smile
- Michael J Fox Foundation Website
Our dream was that the needs of people with Parkinson’s and Latin America would be known and understood and that we could improve the quality of care.
Later this year we will undertake a patient participation project in an epidemiological research project funded by the Michael J Fox Foundation. Scientific research on Parkinson’s in Latin America will help us understand the need and lay the groundwork for possible projects for the future. It is about Parkinson’s in Latin America.
Current Focus
- MJF research Project – Christine Jeyachandran is working on this.
- Looking for new members/ partners – Please fill in the form in the link. If you don’t speak Spanish please use the contact form.
- Revenue Raising – Looking for funding Partners
We have an amazing vision but most of our team already have jobs and we’d like to dedicate more time to this work and build a team of people who can support the member organisations:
How Could you help? How could funding help?
- Provide resources (English / Spanish)
- Provide Training courses
- Help produce/ promote video education and awareness raising series we are working on
- Do research with us concerning Parkinson’s
- Improve and give life to our website
Watch our Launch Video to hear the story in English
New Co-Director for the Alianza, Dr. Philippe Salles MD
Dr Philippe Salles MD is an Neurologist and Movement Disorders Specialist from Chile:
“It is a great honor to lead the Alliance in addressing this urgent challenge. Iberoamérica,
full of contrasts and needs, is a linguistically and culturally cohesive region. For most
countries in the area, the access to education, rehabilitation, drugs, advanced therapies,
and research on Parkinson’s disease is dissimilar and at a disadvantage versus developed
countries.
This alliance is an opportunity to look at each other, reveal our necessities and prospects,
and establish opportunities to give each other a hand. We dream of being drivers of a
development culture and joining forces around Parkinson’s disease.
We want the Parkinson´s community to have a voice and improve opportunities for
people with Parkinson´s disease and professionals committed to their care in Latin
America.”
Dr. Salles is a neurologist with international experience; he completed his residency at the
University of Santiago de Chile. He subsequently completed his fellowship in movement
disorders fellowship at the Center for Movement Disorders CETRAM, an NGO in Santiago,
Chile. He then completed a research fellowship in the Center for Neurological Restoration,
Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA. Dr. Salles is a member of the Movement Disorders Society and
the International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders. He currently works
as a clinician and researcher at CETRAM and is a faculty member in the movement
disorders fellowship at this institution.
