Every other month DMRF Canada publishes Going Forward; our bi-monthly e-newsletter.
What's Making News
By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life Staff - For most of his life, Dwayne Backer has lived with dystonia. For him, that means debilitating muscle spasms and poor fine motor control, preventing him from performing day-to-day tasks such as shaving his own face or writing a grocery list. More
TORONTO - Matthew Sheppard drew attention to dystonia Thursday by offering to help Mayor Rob Ford in his workout regime.
The 13-year-old who suffers from myoclonus dystonia came to City Hall with his mom Cathy and former city councillor Bill Saundercook. Together they invited Ford to take part in the Freedom to Move/Chuck’s 5 km Run/Walk for Dystonia taking place in High Park on June 3. More
The toll taken by brain disorders of injury is more than cancer and cardiovascular disease combined, affecting over 30 percent of Canadians. It's plausible that every family in Canada has been touched by a brain condition. Improving our knowledge about brain health, our recognition of brain conditions and our understanding of how to be helpful to those around us is fundamental to reducing the stigma, discrimination and isolation that many Canadians experience every day.
March 2011 marks Canada's first National Brain Awareness Month, an important first step in raising awareness about brain health and the issues fcing millions of Canadians living with brain conditions today.More
Three years ago, The Doctors met Alex, a young woman diagnosed with dystonia, a neurological disorder that causes the muscles to contract and spasm uncontrollably. The contractions force the body into repetitive and often twisting movements, as well as awkward, irregular postures, which halted Alex's career as a dance teacher.