Joel S. Perlmutter, MD, the Elliot H. Stein Family Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named scientific director of the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. Dystonia is a neurological disorder that causes excessive, involuntary muscle contractions and abnormal postures.
An expert on Parkinson’s disease and related movement disorders including dystonia, Perlmutter is co-leader of an international study on the natural history of dystonia and the changes in the brain related to dystonia manifestations. He and his team also develop, test and apply new neuroimaging biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease.