About
the Center
In September 2000, the National Center on Complementary and Alternative
Medicine of the National Institutes on Health officially funded Emory
University to begin a five-year grant that explores how alternative
and complementary medicines can be used with patients afflicted by neurodegenerative
diseases. (Emory is one of 15 CAM Centers funded by NIH.) This effort
is motivated by a strong desire of our team to promote and advance the
scientific basis of many types of "alternative" treatments.
[Click here
to view Center Structure.]
Our
Mission:
"The mission of the Emory University Center on Complementary and
Alternative Medicine in Neurodegenerative Diseases is to undertake systematic
study of promising interventions that are complementary to traditional
medical approaches that preserve or enhance function and quality of
life among individuals with neurodegenerative disorders."
Inherent
in this mission is the quest to strengthen our infrastructure and to
identify, support, and train promising scientists and clinicians wishing
to investigate basic mechanisms and clinical applications of complementary
and alternative medical modalities. We are specifically interested in
their impact upon neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's
and Alzheimer's disease.
Center
Director
Dr. Mahlon DeLong has an extensive career focused on basic research
on the structure and function of the basal ganglia, the pathophysiologic
mechanisms of movement disorders and the development of new therapeutic
approaches to their treatment. His interests have focused in recent
years on rigorous clinical trials of newer surgical procedures such
as pallidotomy and deep brain stimulation. During his tenure as chairman
of the Department of Neurology at Emory, Dr. DeLong has strongly encouraged
his faculty to expand their research interests into areas directly germane
to complementary medicine.
Center
Associate Director
Dr. Steven Wolf has maintained a strong interest in the application
of complementary and alternative applications in the treatment of patients
with movement disorders caused by stroke, cerebral palsy, or traumatic
brain injury. Since 1970, Dr. Wolf has participated in the training
of over 15,000 rehabilitation clinicians in the application of muscle
biofeedback to patients with movement disorders. Within the past 20
years, he has examined numerous forms of force or "center of pressure"
biofeedback to improve gait or postural sway among patients with movement
disorders or progressive frailty.
