Ali will be the featured speaker at Knock Out Parkinson’s Disease, a special event at the Muhammad Ali Center, Friday, June 9, organized to raise awareness of the disease and the most advanced treatments available.

The event begins at 5 p.m. Following Ali’s talk and a buffet dinner, medical experts in Parkinson’s disease from University of Louisville Physicians will discuss the treatment and management of Parkinson’s disease.

“We want to make sure everyone with Parkinson’s disease has access to the best treatments available,” said Kathrin LaFaver, MD, director of the UofL Physicians Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center and Raymond Lee Lebby Chair for Parkinson’s Disease Research in the UofL School of Medicine. “We are dedicated to helping each Parkinson’s patient achieve the best quality of life regardless of race or socioeconomic status.”

Knock Out Parkinson’s Disease is a kickoff event for Louisville’s first , to take place on Saturday, June 10 at Waterfront Park. Moving Day is sponsored by the National Parkinson Foundation to engage the community in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. It will feature a family friendly walk course, a kids’ area, a caregivers’ relaxation tent and a Movement Pavilion featuring yoga, dance, Tai Chi, Pilates, and other activities, all proven to help manage the symptoms of PD.

Knock Out Parkinson’s Disease 2017 also is part of the , a six-week series of events commemorating Muhammad Ali’s six core principles. I Am Ali runs June 3 through July 15.

There is no cost to attend Knock Out Parkinson’s Disease, but reservations are required. Register and .��

The PD Buddy program, the only one of its kind for Parkinson’s patients, was launched last summer as a partnership between UofL and the . Twenty-five buddy pairs participated in the year-long program designed to give the patients social interaction and allow them to share their stories with the students, who in turn gained first-hand knowledge about living with a nervous system disorder. The program also serves to better educate students about Parkinson’s, introduce students to research and career opportunities in neurology and movement disorders, and provide people with Parkinson’s Disease the opportunity to interact more closely with the medical community.

Kathrin LaFaver, MD, the Raymond Lee Lebby Chair for Parkinson’s Disease Research in the Department of Neurology at UofL and director of the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Clinic at UofL Physicians, said the exchanges give the students a deeper understanding of how patients cope with the disease. LaFaver also meets monthly with the students to provide additional medical information and inform the students about research and career opportunities in neurology and movement disorders.

Since this program is unique for Parkinson’s patients, LaFaver, along with Erika Branch, executive director of the Parkinson Support Center, and Denise Cumberland, PhD, assistant professor in the UofL College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, will present findings from the first year of the PD Buddy Program at the in Portland, Oregon, in September.

The PD Buddy Program, also sponsored by KentuckyOne Health, is open to anyone diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease who has the time and interest to participate. In addition to one-on-one meetings with the students, several group activities will be planned over the course of the year. Patients must understand that this is an education program and that the medical students will not be able to give medical advice.

Interested individuals may call the UofL Physicians Movement Disorders Clinic at 502-582-7654, the Parkinson Support Center of Kentucky at 502-254-3388, or email a completed application form to outreach@parkinsoncenter.org prior to August 15. Application forms may be .��