20/04/2026
Intense dialogue between physicians and researchers took place during the scientific panel discussion on Parkinson’s disease sponsored by CEDENNA and organized by the Graduate and Postgraduate Directorate of the Usach Faculty of Medical Sciences. According to the moderator of the meeting and CEDENNA researcher, Dr. Pedro Chaná, director of the CEDENNA-Usach Center program and of CETRAM (Center for the Study of Movement Disorders), the goal was “to bring together scientists with different perspectives and create a space for creative dialogue, where the knowledge each one contributes is challenged in order to build an integrated view that guides progress in this field”. Participants included Dr. Alberto Espay, neurologist at the University of Cincinnati, and Universidad Mayor researchers Dr. Natalia Salvadores and Dr. René Vidal.
In a context of population aging, the need to advance in the diagnosis and understanding of diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s is becoming increasingly urgent. “We cannot ignore that age is a predominant factor in this process. However, the main medical problem is that we are diagnosing patients late. The challenge is to understand the causes and be able to anticipate as much as possible, ensuring that the findings are causal and not simply collateral”, stressed Chaná. For his part, Dr. Espay emphasized that knowing the advances achieved in high-end laboratories is essential but is not in itself the participants’ goal. “Research is a platform to help patients. Bringing together physicians and researchers from different specialties allows us to define what kind of research we need to have a more effective impact on those living with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. The knowledge generated in frontier laboratories must be translated into concrete tools for diagnosis and treatment”, he said.
