As in the past, the Thanksgiving season has offered me an opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments and goals of the Parkinson Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine and to express my gratitude to my friends and colleagues for their continued support. In addition to providing the most professional and compassionate care for patients with Parkinson's disease, other neurodegenerative disorders, and movement disorders we have made substantial contributions in research and advancing knowledge. The following are some highlights of our clinical, research and academic activities during the past year.
- This year Baylor was listed by the National Institutes of Health among the top ten US medical schools in NIH-funded research. The National Science Foundation listed Baylor as #1 for research expenditures in biological science. Baylor is also currently ranked as the top school in Texas for federally financed research and development expenditures. The U.S. News & World Report has included The Methodist Hospital in the top 20 rankings, the most Methodist has ever achieved. The clinical and research contributions of the PDCMDC have undoubtedly contributed to the recognition of Neurology as the #1 service at the Methodist.
- With new leadership as of August 2004, the Department of Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine has embarked on an expanding mission building on our base of excellence and securing the clinical and research future by recruitment of new faculty. Dr. Jankovic has been appointed to the Executive Council of the Department of Neurology and as chair of the Faculty Appointments and Promotion Committee.
- Adding to prior honorary memberships of the Australian Association of Neurologists, Panamanian Neurosurgical and Neurological Society, Dr. Jankovic has been elected this Year as Member "d'honneur à titre étranger" of the French Neurological Society and as a corresponding International Member of European Federation of Neurological Societies.
- Dr. Jankovic was selected by fellow scientists as Highly Cited Researcher.
- The 2004 Parkinson's Research Endowment Fund Dinner benefiting the PDCMDC at Baylor drew a record crowd at the Intercontinental Hotel on March 18th. Honorees included Ralph Davidson and Truett Latimer, along with Honorary Chairs, Lynda and David Underwood. Unique entertainment was provided by world renown magician Ted Lesley from Berlin, Germany. Attending this event were business and community leaders including Allen Becker, Nellie Connally, Melvyn Wolff, and many others.
- On Sept. 22, 2004, Dr. Jankovic was honored by the Huntington Disease Association of America with Team Hope Award for Medical Leadership at the Celebration of Hope Gala. The award was presented to Dr. Jankovic by his long-time friend, Houston councilperson Dr. Sekula-Gibbs. Other honorees included Margaret Alkek and Margaret Alkek Williams, who were presented with an award by Dr. DeBakey. The team of HDSA Center of Excellence has participated in a number of outreach HD related programs, including the annual HDSA walkathon.
- Dr. Jankovic has served as the chair of the Movement Disorder Society Development and Planning Committee for Courses on An Update on Management of Motor Complications in Parkinson's Disease throughout the US. He hosted the inaugural CME course in Houston on March 20, 2004.
- This year, the annual course on Current Neurology, held at the Houstonian Hotel, Oct. 20-31, 2004 featured Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders and included the following guest speakers: Jose Obeso, M.D., Spain; Anthony Schapira, M.D., United Kingdom, and Warren Olanow, M.D., New York.
- In addition to his past and present service on the editorial boards of several on-line books and journals including Neurology in Clinical Practice, Neurology Medlink, and Therapy, Movement Disorders, Neurology, Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, Journal of Neurological Sciences, Clinical Neuropharmacology, Dr. Jankovic has been appointed as the founding associate editor of the International Journal of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, and Journal of Therapy. He also serves as the chair of the Journal Oversight Committee, Movement Disorders Society.
- During the past year Dr. Jankovic and his associates, Drs. Ondo and Tintner, have authored or co-authored over 50 articles or chapters and presented over 30 abstracts (18 abstracts presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, San Francisco, more than any other group in the world).
- Furthermore, this year Dr. Jankovic has published 8 books and volumes, including: Bradley WG, Daroff RB, Fenichel GM, Jankovic J, eds. Neurology in Clinical Practice, 4th Edition, Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier), Philadelphia, PA, 2004:1-2545; Bigalke H, Dressler D, Jankovic J, eds. Basic and Therapeutic Aspects of Neurotoxins, Mov Disord 2004, Suppl 8:S1-S167; Esquenazi A, Jankovic J, Silberstein SD. A Pocket Guide to the Use of Botulinum Neurotoxins in Neurology. Institute of Medical Studies, New York, 2004:1-64; Brin MF, Comella C, Jankovic J, eds. Dystonia: Etiology, Clinical Features, and Treatment. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2004:1-262; and Jankovic J. Video Atlas of Movement Disorders (CD), 2nd Edition. Medlink, La Jolla, CA, 2004.
- Dr. Jankovic has lectured extensively in Europe (1st International Symposium on Pediatric Movement Disorders, Barcelona, Spain, 8th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, Rome, Italy), Asia (11th Asian & Oceanic Congress of Neurology (AOCN), Singapore, International Neurology Forum, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as well as US (e.g. University of Maryland, University of Michigan, UCLA, etc) and was honored as the "Mel Yahr Lecturer" at the Mount Sinai Medical School, New York.
- Dr. Ondo and his collaborators identified a genetic location on chromosome 9 for restless legs syndrome, created an animal model of restless legs syndrome that can be used to expedite research on new treatments, and reported the first long term results of treatment of RLS with dopaminergic medications.
- This year, we have again been awarded the designation as a National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence. This designation constitutes the NPF's seal of approval, defining the gold standard in Parkinson research, support and care. We have additionally been awarded two grants to further our programs on outreach to the community and on expanding our comprehensive care program. To begin to accomplish these goals, we provided support for the regional Allied Team Training in Parkinson's Disease here at Baylor this past October where approximately 60 therapists, occupational, physical, speech, and music as well as social work attending this training.
- Christine Hunter, R.N. served as a section editor of the 4th edition of American Academy of Neurological Nurses Core Curriculum for Neuroscience Nursing.
- Dr. Jankovic has lectured and presented abstracts at the 4th International Scientific Symposium on Tourette Syndrome, Cleveland, Ohio, June, 2004. On Jan. 14, 2005 Dr. Jankovic will again direct a Symposium on Tourette Syndrome and Related Neurobehavioral Disorders (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder), sponsored by the Movement Disorders Clinic. The PDCMDC team has also participated in the annual Tourette Syndrome camp and has joined the Tourette Syndrome Association of Greater Houston (to staff next year's TSA camp, scheduled for April 4-5, 2005 (www.tsa-usa.org).
As you can tell, I am very proud of the accomplishments of the PDCMDC. None of the achievements highlighted in this letter, however, would have been possible without the untiring efforts of the entire family of dedicated physicians, nurses and professional staff at the PDCMDC. I also continue to collaborate closely with our basic scientists in our Parkinson's Research Laboratory, headed by Weidong Le, M.D., Ph.D., in our effort to advance the understanding of neurodegeneration and translating these discoveries into innovative treatments and therapeutic strategies designed not only to treat the symptoms, but also to slow or halt the progression of diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and other neurodegenerative and movement disorders. I know that there is much work still to be done to bring us closer to the goal of finding the cure for these disorders. I am grateful to you for your generous support as we continue to make progress in our fight against these diseases. By continuing to invest in clinical and basic research, breakthroughs in treatment—and a cure—will be forthcoming.
With warm appreciation,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.