Tagged: 2019
The 2019 World Parkinson’s Congress
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I have a request to make of readers. I have been invited – with Parkinson’s advocate AC Woolnough – to conduct a round table at the upcoming 2019 World Parkinson’s Congress meeting in Kyoto. The round table is a discussion involving 10-20 people sitting around a table. Our topic will be how can we better align the efforts of researchers and patients. And this is where we would like your help. Or at least, we would like your input. Specifically, we are seeking topics for discussion at the table regarding how we can better join the goals/focus of the community on the research side of things. In today’s post, we look at what the World Parkinson’s congress is, how the round table topic came about, and what we are currently thinking regarding the structure of our roundtable session.
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Yasaka Pagoda and Sannen Zaka Street. Source: JT
It was the capital of Japan for more than one thousand years (from 794 to 1869).
It sits 315 miles southwest of Tokyo and 25 miles east of Osaka.
It was the setting of the world’s first novel in the world (Shikibu Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji).
It has over 1000 Buddhist temples (including the hugely impressive Fushimi-Inari-Taisha), and more than 2,000 temples and shrines collectively.
Fushimi-Inari-Taisha. Source: Medium
It has the oldest restaurant in Kyoto, Japan (called Honke Owariya, which was founded in 1465).
It had its own civil war – referred to as “Onin no Ran” (Onin War) – in the 15th century. The war lasted 11 years (1467-1477) and focused on two families of samurai warriors seeking power in Kyoto.
It is the home of the video game company Nintendo and Nightingale Floors:
It holds 20% of Japan’s National Treasures and 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites (including Kiyomizu-dera, Ryōan-ji, Saihō-ji, Tō-ji, and Kinkaku-ji.
It has 1.5 million residents (and 50 million tourists per year).
It consumes more bread and spends more money on coffee than any other city in Japan (I wonder why?).
It has the longest train platform in Japan (at JR Kyoto Station – 564 meters long!).
It is Kyoto.
Kinkaku-ji. Source: AWOL
And in June of this year, the World Parkinson’s congress will be held in this beautiful city.
What is the World Parkinson’s congress?
Monthly Research Review – February 2019
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At the end of each month the SoPD writes a post which provides an overview of some of the major pieces of Parkinson’s-related research that were made available during February 2019. The post is divided into seven parts based on the type of research:
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So, what happened during February 2019?
In world news:
31st January – Not exactly February I know, but this is amazing: Forget everything you know about 3D printing, because now we can 3D print with light! (Click here for the research report and click here for the press release).
3rd February – Pope Francis visited Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. He is the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula.
19th February – Star Wars Lightsaber duelling was registered as an official sport in France, as part of an effort to encourage young people to engage more in sports (Click here to read more about this).
21st February – Israeli tech firm SpaceIL launched the Beresheet probe – the world’s first privately financed mission to the Moon. The company is competing in the Google Lunar X Prize, and it is hoping that the craft will land on the surface of the moon on the 12th April.
22nd February – “Wallace’s giant bee” (Megachile pluto) was the world’s largest species of bee – with a wingspan measuring more than six centimetres (2.5 inches) – until the species disappeared in 1981. An international team of scientists and conservationists have now re-discovered it in an Indonesian rainforest, giving hope that other lost species may also be found.
In the world of Parkinson’s research, a great deal of new research and news was reported:
In February 2019, there were 696 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (1555 for all of 2019 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).
The top 7 pieces of Parkinson’s news
The road ahead: Parkinson’s research in 2019
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“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable” This quote has been attributed to General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Click here for the full story of this quote), and while the sentence does not immediately make a whole lot of sense, it does apply to our discussion here regarding research in Parkinson’s. At the start of each year, it is a useful practise to layout what we are expecting and hoping to see in the world of Parkinson’s research over the next 12 months. This can help us better anticipate where ‘the battle’ may go, and allow us to prepare for things further ahead. Where it actually finishes is unpredictable, but where we currently stand will hopefully provide us with a useful measure. In this post, I will lay out what we believe the next 12 months holds for us with regards to the Parkinson’s-related research. And be warned: This is usually the longest post of the year.
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Source: Protradeunited
In the introduction to last year’s outlook I wrote of the dangers of having expectations (Click here to read that post). A wise man (the great Charlie Munger) once said: If you want to lead a happy life, lower your expectations.
It is good advice, and as a rule, I try to follow it in life – I am a cup is completely empty kind of guy. I have no expectations, and so when anything happens – it is magic. I do have ambitions, but no expectations.
And others wrote about managing expectations in 2018 (Click here for a great example).
To put it plainly: Expectations are the primary cause of all disappointment.
Sage wisdom. Source: Unitystone
And it is important, as we look ahead at the next 12 months of Parkinson’s research, we need to be very careful not to have too many (or to build up too many) expectations.
Right, now, with all of that said, it may now befuddle some readers that the theme of the 2019 SoPD outlook is ‘great expectations‘.
Let me explain:
The road ahead: Parkinson’s research in 2018
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The great ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky once said “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be” (the original quote actually came from his father, Walter). At the start of each year, it is a useful practise to layout what is planned for the next 12 months. This can help us better anticipate where ‘the puck’ will be, and allow us to prepare for things further ahead. 2017 was an incredible year for Parkinson’s research, and there is a lot already in place to suggest that 2018 is going to be just as good (if not better). In this post, we will lay out what we can expect over the next 12 months with regards to the Parkinson’s-related clinical trials research of new therapies. |
Charlie Munger (left) and Warren Buffett. Source: Youtube
Many readers will be familiar with the name Warren Buffett.
The charming, folksy “Oracle of Omaha” is one of the wealthiest men in the world. And he is well known for his witticisms about investing, business and life in general.
Warren Buffett. Source: Quickmeme
He regularly provides great one liners like:
“We look for three things [in good business leaders]: intelligence, energy, and integrity. If they don’t have the latter, then you should hope they don’t have the first two either. If someone doesn’t have integrity, then you want them to be dumb and lazy”
“Work for an organisation of people you admire, because it will turn you on. I always worry about people who say, ‘I’m going to do this for ten years; and if I really don’t like it very much, then I’ll do something else….’ That’s a little like saving up sex for your old age. Not a very good idea”
“Choosing your heroes is very important. Associate well, marry up and hope you find someone who doesn’t mind marrying down. It was a huge help to me”
Mr Buffett is wise and a very likeable chap.
Few people, however, are familiar with his business partner, Charlie Munger. And Charlie is my favourite of the pair.
