photo by flickr user EMSL

The Parkinson's Disease Foundation and Medical University of South Carolina are hosting an educational forum to provide information and support to those dealing with the disease.

The forum will be on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at the Crown Reef Conference Center in Myrtle Beach.  It's free of charge and runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Sessions include a snapshot of Parkinson's disease in 2012, clinical research, the impact of exercise, and deep brain stimulation.  The afternoon session is dedicated to clinical trials.

If you're interested in attending, RSVP by Thursday, April 12 to Jackie Snead at snead_jackie@yahoo.com or (304) 731-8103, or Elaine Casavant at escavant@sc.rr.com or (843) 650-8756. 

In addition to the forum, there is an active Parkinson's support group in the Grand Strand.  Their mission is "to educate, enlighten and promote awareness of Parkinson's Disease."  The group is filled with Parkinson's patients in various stages of the disease, and their caregivers.  Everyone is dedicated to sharing research information, offer support, and compassion to help both the patient and caregiver.  Meetings are at 7 p.m., the second Thursday of each month.  For more information about the group and location of the meetings, please call Elaine Casavant at  (843) 650-8756 or Vickie VanVlerah at (843) 294-0625.