Washington University in Saint Louis

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Joel Perlmutter

URL: http://mednews.wustl.edu/sb/page/normal/172.html

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Jim Dryden
Assoc. Dir. of Broadcast Services
jdryden@wustl.edu
(314) 286-0110

Professor of Neurology and Radiology

Expertise: neuroimaging, neuropharmacology, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, dystonia, essential tremor, dopaminergic pathways, degenerative movement disorder, basal ganglia

Bio: Perlmutter works with patients who have movement disorders including Parkinson's disease, a progressive, degenerative movement disorder; dystonia, a state of abnormal tension in the body's tissues; Huntington's disease, an inherited adult-onset disease of the central nervous system; and essential tremor, a benign condition in which a trembling motion accompanies most movement.

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Legal battles

Fast-multiplying lawsuits can stymie medical science, authors warn (http://mednews.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/8446.html)

Jan. 3, 2007 --
Class-action lawsuits can significantly slow or halt science's ability to establish links between neurological illness and environmental factors produced by industry, a team of scientists and lawyers warns in the journal Neurology. The authors caution that litigation's effects could seriously impair efforts to identify compounds that contribute to a wide variety of diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).



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Additional Background: Perlmutter's research investigates the basal ganglia (three large nuclei of nerve cells located below the brain) and movement disorders using neuroimaging techniques that allow him to take pictures of the brain at work. His work on Parkinson's Disease employs Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and other imaging techniques to study the effects of various treatments, the underlying physiological defects involved in the disorders, their genetic bases, short-term memory capabilities of patients and the severity of their disease. He also has used PET to study a new animal model of dystonia -- a state of abnormal tension in the body's tissues -- to investigate the biological and chemical changes that occur in this disorder.
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Related Links:
•Perlmutter's Web page (http://wuphysicians.wustl.edu/physician2.asp?PhysNum=1148)
•Department of Neurology Web page (http://wuphysicians.wustl.edu/dept.asp?pageID=1&ID=4)

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