FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
GOOD VIBRATIONS
Treating Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease By Eric Peters
INGRID PRETZER-ABOFF, PH.D., RN Associate Professor, Senior Nurse Researcher Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems VCU School of Nursing
Last year, Ingrid Pretzer-Aboff, Ph.D., RN, and several VCU colleagues received a $434,715 grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to study a vibrating device worn inside the shoe that could significantly reduce or put an end to a symptom of Parkinson’s disease known as freezing of gait. This symptom, which nearly 60% of people with Parkinson’s disease experience, manifests in a complete stop or prolonged shuffle in the feet or legs despite an individual’s best intentions to move forward. No medications or surgeries currently are available to treat it. Dr. Pretzer-Aboff and Leslie Cloud, M.D., neurologist at the VCU Health Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center, are leading a team of five VCU researchers in a two-year randomized controlled clinical trial to assess the best therapeutic dose and duration of vibration to reduce the occurrence and severity of the freeze. Dr. Pretzer-Aboff has studied vibration therapy in Parkinson’s patients for 10 years. Her research focuses on developing interventions that improve function and optimize the independence of people with Parkinson’s disease. She is a member of the Movement Disorder Society, Gerontological Society of America, American Geriatric Society, Sigma Theta Tau and the Virginia Nurses Association. How does freezing of gait affect people with Parkinson’s disease physically and emotionally? Freezing of gait is a problem described by patients as the feeling of their feet being glued to the floor. During a freeze, they are unable to walk in a normal heel to toe fashion and cannot move forward. Episodes can last seconds or minutes and are often triggered when initiating In a lab at the VCU School of Nursing, Ingrid Pretzer-Aboff, Ph.D., RN, studies a vibrating device worn inside the shoe (see top of facing page) that could significantly reduce or put an end to a symptom of Parkinson’s disease known as freezing of gait. Dr. Pretzer-Aboff’s research is supported by The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Photos: Kevin Schindler
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NEXT / SPRING 2020
