Prof Bas Bloem "What type of exercise is best for people with Parkinson's"

Professor Bloem is one of, if not the World's leading authorities on Parkinson's disease. He shares his research on this important topic and helps us understand how to best manage our symptoms through exercise. The expression “citius, fortius, altius” (Latin for “faster, higher, stronger”) is the Olympic motto indicating what is required to achieve athletic excellence. Which of these skills is most important to reach an optimal personal performance was not specified by its creator, Pierre de Coubertin, but a combination is presumably optimal. Similar issues are at play when trying to understand the beneficial outcomes of physical activity on general health and motor functioning in people with neurological disorders such as Parkinson's Disease. ----------------------- Professor Bas Bloem is consultant neurologist at the Department of Neurology, Radboud University Medical Centre, The Netherlands. He is without a doubt one of the world’s top Parkinson’s specialists and has just received the prestigious Dutch "Stevinpremie" award. Professor Bloem has published over 850 publications and has held too many positions and received too many awards to mention. In 2002, he founded and became director of the Radboud UMC Centre of Expertise for Parkinson & Movement Disorders, which is recognised as a centre of excellence for PD. He also developed ParkinsonNet, an innovative healthcare concept that consists of 70 professional networks for PD patients, covering all of The Netherlands. This initiative has received several awards. Professor Bloem has two main research interests: - cerebral compensatory mechanisms, especially in the field of gait and balance; and - healthcare innovation.