Medical conference could be a big draw

The niche world of scientists and medical professionals who study Parkinson's disease plan to call Sarasota home one day later this month.

The occasion is a symposium on the disease, to be held Jan. 22 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital's Institute for Advanced Medicine. Organizers expect 600 people to attend the symposium, which would make it one of the largest conferences on Parkinson's in the country.

Parkinson's is a degenerative brain condition that affects at least one million people nationwide.

The roster of speakers will focus on topics that include the latest research and treatments for Parkinson's. Speakers include:

• Dr. J. William Langston, founder, CEO and scientific director of The Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, Calif. Langston discovered a link between synthetic heroin and the sudden onset of Parkinson's in drug addicts in the 1980s, research that brought him international attention;

• Jay Alberts, an assistant professor at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, who studies the disease and leads Pedaling for Parkinson's, an annual 500-mile bike ride across Iowa;

• Dr. Ole Isacson, a professor of neurology at Harvard University and director of The Neuroregeneration Institute at McLean Hospital in Boston. Isacson pioneered several lines of research in the field, including the implantation of stem cells to reverse the effects of Parkinson's.