The Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Institute

The physicians and scientists of the Institute strive to further their own understanding of movement disorders, and also contribute to general awareness and education, through participation in support organizations, public speaking, and training of students in our laboratory.

Dr. Truong - Botox Injections for Voice DisordersFounded by Dr. Daniel D. Truong, a recognized expert in research and treatment of Parkinson's disease, dystonia and other movement disorders, the Institute was first established at the University of California, Irvine as the Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Program.

Today, the Institute is comprised of eight specialists dedicated to a full spectrum of patient care and research in the areas of Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, from medical treatment to surgical approaches. In addition to Dr. Daniel Truong, the Institute's specialists are Dr. Victor Passy, an expert in the treatment of spasmodic dysphonia; Dr. Mayank Pathak, who specializes in spasticity; Dr.Mindy Bixby, who is a neurologist with special interest in Movement Disorders.

We joined together with the common goals of investigating and treating neurological disorders that impair movement. These efforts are accomplished, of course, through the efforts of many people within the organization, including clinical and research staff.

Daniel D. Truong, MD
Trained at Columbia University and the prestigious National Hospital for Nervous Disease at Queeen Square England, Dr Daniel Truong is one of the few neurologists with formal training in Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorder in Orange County. As one of the pioneers in the development of botulinum toxin treatment of movement disorders, he has published many articles in its use.

Dr. Truong is well known internationally for his work in development the animal model of myoclonus. The model has become the mainstay for research in this field. In clinical research, the Truong and Fahn myoclonus rating scale, which was developed by both Dr. Truong and Dr. Stanley Fahn, has become one of the main instruments used internationally for therapeutic investigation of the disease.

Dr. Truong is the author or nearly 60 scientific articles and book chapters. Dr. Truong has been involved in many dystonia research projects. He was instrumental in the early of development of botulinum toxin use in spasmodic dysphonia, a disorder that renders the patient unable to talk. Dr. Truong was the founder of the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association (NSDA), for which he served as chairman of the medical advisory board from 1990 to 1997. He has also served as Medical Advisor for the National Spasmodic Torticollis Association from 1990 until 1998.

In the field of Parkinson's disease, Dr. Truong has participated in many clinical research studies involved with the development of many currently available Parkinson's drugs. He is a member of the Parkinson Study Group. Dr. Truong has been featured in many television interviews and newspaper articles. He founded the Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Program at UCI and left in 1997 to form the Parkinson and Movement Disorder Institute.

Mayank S. Pathak, MD

Mayan Pathak, M.D. was trained in neurology at the University of California, Irvine, after which he completed two fellowships. The first was in spinal cord medicine at the V.A. Medical Center in Long Beach, California and the second in neurological rehabilitation at UCLA. Dr. Pathak served as an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Charles Drew University and M.L. King Medical Center in Los Angeles. He has been involved in research projects involving ambulation in spinal cord injured patients and continues to conduct clinical investigations of medical therapy for spinal cord injury, Parkinson's Disease and spasmodic torticollis as part of the Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Institute. He will be seeing patients as well.

Dr. Mindy Bixby

Dr. Mindy Bixby is a neurologist specializing in Movement disorder and is affiliated with MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She received her medical degree from Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine and has been in practice for 7 years. She is one of 37 doctors at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital who specialize in Neurology.