Tag Archives: Tremor Support Group

Join us in Cheshire for our February 3rd meeting!

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Saturday, February 3, 2024
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

The Association Between Essential Tremor & Parkinsonism
presented by
Movement Disorders Neurologist Elena Bortan, MD

Meeting Location:
Hartford HealthCare Movement Disorders Center Conference Room
280 South Main Street, Cheshire, CT 06410

In her presentation, Dr. Bortan will address and update us on the following questions:

  1. Is essential tremor predictive of Parkinson’s disease?
  2. What is epidemiological evidence between essential tremor and other neurodegenerative conditions?

Neurologist Elena Bortan is a movement disorders specialist with the Ayer Neuroscience Institute Chase Family Movement Disorders Center. She came to Hartford HealthCare from Middlesex Hospital, where she worked for almost a decade.

Dr. Bortan earned her medical degree from Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Romania. She completed a residency in neurology at Tufts New England Medical Center and a fellowship in movement disorders at the Lahey Clinic.

Fluent in English and Romanian, Dr. Bortan’s areas of clinical interest are movement disorders including Parkinsonism, essential tremor and others; botulinum toxin chemodenervation for dystonia blepharospasm and spasticity; deep brain stimulation; and general neurology. She is board-certified in neurology and a member of the American Academy of Neurology and The Movement Disorder Society.

Inquiries are invited!
Registration is required no later than 7:00 p.m.
on Wednesday, January 31st!

To register or request information, email Helen Moser or submit the form below:

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Save the date!

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Our next regularly scheduled support group meeting is scheduled for 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 3rd. Meeting details are in the works ..but be sure to save the date by entering it into your 2024 calendar!

Please join us for our December 2nd meeting!

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Saturday, December 2, 2023
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

A Family Approach to Living Well
with Illness and Disability Management

presented by Joan Monin, PhD
Associate Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Yale School of Public Health

Meeting Location:
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital Memorial Conference Room
540 Litchfield Street, Torrington, CT 06790

  • At this meeting, Dr. Monin will talk about how care partners and care recipients influence each other’s health and well-being over time. She will also talk about interventions, programs, and activities that families or chosen families can use to live well with illness and disability.

Professor Monin’s research examines how emotional processes affect health in older adult relationships. Her research combines survey methods and laboratory experiments to understand the mechanisms (e.g. emotional contagion, cardiovascular reactivity) and moderators (gender, individual differences in attachment) involved in these processes. Currently, her research focuses on understanding how caregivers and care recipients support one another in the context of early stage dementia.

After completing her BA in Psychology at the University of Rochester, Dr. Monin received both an MS in Psychology and a PhD in Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research. She has received numerous international, national, and regional professional honors and recognitions, including:

    • Xerox Award for Excellence in the Social Sciences and Humanities
    • Reach Award from the Xerox Foundation, University of Rochester
    • Golden Key national Honor Society
    • Phi Beta Kappa, University of Rochester
    • Travel Award, Carnegie Mellon University, New Methods for the Analysis of Family and Dyadic Processes Conference, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
    • Graduate Student Small Grant Award, Carnegie Mellon University, “Anxiety Expression in Social Support Interactions”
    • Herbert A. Simon Graduate Teaching Award, Carnegie Mellon University
    • Early Career Award, Society for the Study of Human Development (given every 2 years to honor an early career scholar whose work has made a significant contribution to the understanding of significant and critical aspects of human development)
    • Awarded Gerontological Society of America Fellow Status
    • Recipient of Society for the Psychology of Women, Div. 35 of the American Psychological Association’s 2020 Florence L. Denmark Award
    • Awarded Society for Experimental Social Psychology Fellow Status
    • Awarded American Psychosomatic Society Fellow Status

Inquiries are invited!
Registration is required no later than
5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 29th!

To register or request information, email Helen Moser or submit the form below:

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The CT Essential Tremor Support Group is sponsored by:

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Plan to join us on December 2nd!

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Although our in-person (only) location is to be determined, we’re excited to have scheduled Joan Monin, PhD, to present at our December 2nd meeting! An Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Yale School of Public Health, Dr. Monin’s work focuses on caregiving and health and how people and families cope with health challenges like ET.

Please be sure to add our December meeting to your calendar and to stay tuned for more details.

 

Join us in person for our October 7th meeting!

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Saturday, October 7, 2023
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

The Current State of Clinical Therapeutic Trials for Essential Tremor

presented by Duarte Machado, MD
Director of Program Excellence and Recognition
Hartford HealthCare’s Chase Family Movement Disorders Center

Meeting Location:
Hartford HealthCare Movement Disorders Center Conference Room
280 South Main Street, Cheshire, CT 06410

The objective of this presentation will be to understand the progress in research treatments for essential tremor. This will include a review of the basic science and proof of concept of therapeutics for ET, status of ongoing clinical trials, and potential future outcomes of these trials.

Dr. Duarte Machado, whom we’re fortunate to have as volunteer Medical Director for our CT Essential Tremor Support Group, is a Neurologist who specializes in Movement Disorders. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

After completing his undergraduate degree at Trinity College, Dr. Machado attended the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, followed by:

  • Internship: Yale-New Haven Hospital; Internal Medicine
  • Residency: Yale-New Haven Hospital; Neurology
  • Fellowship: Yale University School of Medicine; Movement Disorders

He is a member of several Professional Organizations:

  • American Neurological Association
  • American Academy of Neurology
  • International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
  • National Physicians Alliance
  • New Haven County Medical Association

Dr. Machado’s areas of interest include Ataxia, Blepharospasm, Choreas, Cognitive Disorders, Deep Brain Stimulation, Dementia, Dystonia, Essential Tremor, Facial Spasms, Gait Disorders, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, Huntington Disease, Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders, Movement Disorders, Myoclonus, Neurosciences, Parkinsonisms, Parkinson’s Disease, Restless Leg Syndrome, Spasmodic Torticollis, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, Stiff Person Syndrome, Tardive Dyskinesia, Tics and Tourette Syndrome, Tourette Syndrome, and Tremors.

Inquiries are invited!
Registration is required no later than
5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 4th!

To register or request information, email Helen Moser or submit the form below:

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The CT essential tremor support group is sponsored by

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We’ll talk about the medical management of Essential Tremor on August 5th!

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Saturday, August 5, 2023
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
via Zoom

Five Important Questions in the Medical Management of ET

presented by Ana Vives-Rodriguez, MD
Movement Disorders and Cognitive-Behavioral Neurologist, Yale
Medicine Assistant Professor of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine

At this meeting Dr. Vives-Rodriguez will review essential questions such as:

  • when to start treatment,
  • medications available,
  • treatment expectations,
  • alternative therapies, and
  • when to start thinking about surgical options.

Dr. Vives-Rodriguez is a movement disorders and cognitive-behavioral neurologist at Yale Medicine. She cares for patients with various movement disorders such as essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, tics, and dystonia. She also specializes in treating patients with memory and other cognitive disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementias.

Dr. Vives-Rodriguez grew up and completed her medical and residency training in Costa Rica, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Costa Rica. She spent time prior to her fellowship as an attending physician in neurology at the Max Peralta Hospital in Cartago, Costa Rica. In 2018, she completed a 2-year subspecialty training in movement disorders at Yale New Haven Hospital. After her fellowship at Yale and motivated by a further understanding of neurodegenerative disorders, she pursued training in cognitive behavioral neurology in Boston.

She then completed 3 years of subspecialty training in cognitive behavioral neurology at Boston University/VA Medical Center. During her training, Dr. Vives-Rodriguez focused on translational and clinical neuroscience research of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Wilson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease focusing on structural and functional brain changes and their relation to clinical manifestations.

Dr. Vives-Rodriguez is particularly interested in the behavioral and cognitive aspects of movement disorders and early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders.  

Inquiries are invited! Registration is required
no later than noon on Wednesday, August 2nd!

To register or request information, email Helen Moser or submit the form below:

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The CT essential tremor support group is sponsored by

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Save the date!

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Be sure to save the date for our next regularly scheduled CT Essential Tremor Support Group meeting: 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 5, 2023! Bookmark this page for details about our topic/s and speaker/s for that meeting. (Details will be announced as soon as they’re confirmed.)

A note concerning our meetings: Because of our large attendance, we need to convene in hospital conference rooms.. so until our Connecticut hospitals re-open their facilities to large outside groups, we’ll continue to meet via Zoom. That being said, please know that we’re anxious to meet in person again and will continue to monitor the situation so we can make that happen as soon as possible. Although Zoom is a viable option for many of us, we sorely miss those of our long-term members who, for various reasons, don’t participate electronically.

 

Please join us for our June meeting!

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Saturday, June 3, 2023
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
via Zoom

Psychological and Neuropsychological Functioning in ET

presented by Dr. Emily Sharp, PhD, ABPP
Assistant Professor of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine
Division Chief, Neuropsychology, Yale New Haven Hospital
Associate Training Director, Postdoctoral Residency Program, Neuropsychology

A Board Certified neuropsychologist, Dr. Emily Sharp is part of both the movement disorders and behavioral neurology sections at Yale. Her presentation will focus on the psychological and cognitive symptoms associated with Essential Tremor.

Dr. Sharp received a BA in Psychology from Bucknell University and an MA in Psychology from the University of Southern California. She earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Southern California and joined Yale soon after completing a 2-year neuropsychology fellowship in Boston in 2014. 

Inquiries are invited!
Registration is required no later than noon on Wednesday, May 31st!

To register or request information, email Helen Moser or submit the form below:

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Your message has been sent

The CT essential tremor support group is sponsored by

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We’ll Discuss 2 Interesting Topics at our December 3rd Meeting!

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Saturday, December 3, 2022
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Virtual Meeting via Zoom

Rehabilitation Strategies and Essential Tremor
presented by Physical Therapist Megan Rood, MSPT, CBIS, CSRS
Hartford Healthcare Rehabilitation Network

~and~

Updates on the Cala Trio Wrist Device
presented by Debbie Donovan, Director, Market Development, HCP
and Liana Hennum, Head of Healthcare Economics Outcomes Research
CalaTrio.com
and Ben, a Cala Trio user, will demonstrate its use and effectiveness

How Does PT and Exercise Impact Essential Tremor?
At this meeting, we will discuss the different types of exercise that can be beneficial for assisting in managing tremor, including strengthening, aquatics and mindfulness. We will also discuss different available wellness classes that are offered and how they may be beneficial for management of ET.

Megan Rood is a Physical Therapist at Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network in Vernon, CT. She has been working in outpatient neurology based clinics since graduating in 2005 from Northeastern University.

Megan is LSVT BIG and Parkinson’s Wellness Recovery certified, providing her with additional education on the treatment and management of movement disorders. She also completed the Parkinson’s Foundation Allied Team Training and is active in developing the standards of treatment and care for Hartford HealthCare Rehab Network. Megan is a Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialist and a Certified Brain Injury Specialist, which have both allowed her a better understanding of different neurological diagnoses.

She has presented to patients and caregivers on different topics including Essential Tremor, Balance and Fall Prevention and the Benefits of Physical Therapy for Movement Disorders at the national, state and local levels.

~then~

Updates on the Cala Trio
Cala Trio therapy is the world’s only non-invasive, drug-free, wrist-worn treatment that addresses the root cause of essential tremor with electrical stimulation known as neuromodulation. And the exciting news is that Cala Trio has just been approved for insurance coverage by Medicare and other insurance companies!

At this meeting, Cala Trio user Ben will demonstrate the use – and effectiveness – of this assistive device.

Debbie Donovan (Director, Market Development, HCP) and Liana Hennum (Head of Healthcare Economics Outcomes Research) will present additional information on the device and respond to any questions you may have about the Cala Trio and/or its insurance coverage. Brian Burke (Northeast territory Manager) will also attend.

​Inquiries are invited!
Registration is required no later than noon on Wednesday, November 30th!

To register or request information, email Helen Moser or submit the form below.

Go back

Your message has been sent

The CT essential tremor support group is sponsored by

IETF logo tagline 10162012

Schedule December 3rd in Your Calendar!

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The next regularly scheduled CT Essential Tremor Support Group meeting is set for 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 3rd. Our speakers and program will be announced shortly.. but we do hope you’ll save the date and plan to join us!

A note concerning our meetings: Because of our large attendance, we need to convene in hospital conference rooms.. so until our Connecticut hospitals re-open their facilities to large outside groups, we’ll continue to meet via Zoom. That being said, please know that we’re anxious to meet in person again and will continue to monitor the situation so we can make that happen as soon as possible. Although Zoom is a viable option for many of us, we sorely miss those of our long-term members who, for various reasons, don’t participate electronically.