Centers of Excellence

Northwestern Memorial Hospital is a designated Center of Excellence for Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Wilson disease. Centers of Excellence are top medical institutions featuring comprehensive care teams that meet every patient need and provide access to clinical trials.

Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence logo

Parkinson's Center of Excellence at Northwestern Memorial Hospital

The Parkinson's Foundation leads the development of new treatments and care models through its Centers of Excellence network. Each Center of Excellence is staffed by some of the world’s foremost specialists in every aspect of the complex, multidisciplinary care that delivers the best results for people with Parkinson’s. Meet the Team.


Huntington's Disease Soceity of America Centers of Excellence logo

Huntington's Disease Center of Excellence at Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Our care team will work with you to help you manage your Huntington’s disease symptoms and improve your quality of life. We work toward these goals through personalized treatment plans and research-based therapies designed to ease the full range of physical, emotional and mental challenges. Meet the Team.


Wilson Disease Association logo

Wilson Disease Center of Excellence at Northwestern Memorial Hospital

The Wilson Disease Association Centers of Excellence provide physicians who are well trained in the diagnosis and treatment of Wilson disease, physician training and research regarding Wilson disease, broad services needed by Wilson disease patients and their families, and technical support required by patients (including laboratory metal analysis). Meet the Team.


Tourette Association of America

Tourette Association of America Center of Excellence at Northwestern Memorial Hospital

The Center of Excellence designation from the Tourette Association of America is for medical institutions that give the highest level of care for people with Tourette syndrome. We offer timely and proper evaluations of Tourette syndrome and related conditions, as well as access to leading-edge clinical research studies that give a better understanding of Tourette syndrome and tic disorders to help create effective and safe treatments. Meet the Team.

Movement Disorders Neurogenetics Clinic

The Northwestern Medicine Movement Disorders Neurogenetics Clinic is one of few clinics in Illinois serving both adults and children with movement disorders, and one of the only neurology clinics in Chicago with a full-time genetic counselor on staff.

Two Movement Disorders Centers of Excellence physicians reviewing a patient chart.

Specialty Care Areas

The Northwestern Medicine Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of all movement disorders. Our goal is to help our patients manage their disease and improve their quality of life by working to reduce symptoms, prevent complications, and provide support and assistance to patients and their families.

We achieve this through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to care that includes experts in neurology, psychiatry and social work who work with patients to establish the best treatment plan possible. We also offer cutting-edge pharmacological, surgical, and clinical trials for patients with movement disorders.

Parkinson's Disease

Our Parkinson's Disease care team includes highly experienced professionals in the fields of neurology, psychiatry, nursing, genetics and social work who all work together to establish a treatment plan that addresses the full spectrum of physical, mental and emotional challenges.

Huntington's Disease

Our Huntington’s disease care team includes professionals in neurology, neuropsychiatry, genetic counseling, social work and rehabilitation medicine. Our goal is to help you manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.

Wilson Disease

Our goal is to detect and treat Wilson disease as early as possible and help improve patients’ quality of life by working to reduce symptoms and prevent complications, and by providing support and assistance to patients and their families. We achieve this through a comprehensive and tailored approach to the management of Wilson disease that addresses the full spectrum of physical, mental and emotional challenges.

Ataxia

We tailor our approach for each patient to address the full spectrum of challenges, including problems with balance, gait, coordination and slurred speech.

Botulinum Toxin

Our movement disorders neurologists provide skilled injection of botulinum toxin for the treatment of a variety of neurological conditions that involve abnormal postures or movements.

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

If you have Parkinson’s disease, dystonia or essential tremor and are no longer able to manage your symptoms with medication, your care team can help you decide if DBS may be the right course of treatment for you.

Dystonia

We offer a comprehensive, individualized treatment approach that addresses the many challenges associated with dystonia, including:

  • Involuntary movements
  • Uncontrollable blinking
  • Contractions and muscle tightness
  • Face or voice symptoms

Essential Tremor

Our center offers comprehensive care and management for essential tremor, including specialized skill with botulinum toxin injection and a deep brain stimulation program.

Functional Movement Disorders

We seek to restore function and improve independence for patients who have disabling movement disorders not associated with structural damage to the nervous system. Our approach includes motor reprogramming strategies and pairing rehabilitation with cognitive behavioral techniques.

Genetic Testing and Counseling

We specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of adults and children with rare movement disorders, and movement disorders caused by or linked to gene mutations.

Palliative Care

Palliative care addresses a number of challenges associated with movement disorders, including pain, constipation, weakness, fatigue, depression and cognitive difficulties, and offers a support system to help you live as actively as possible, even with progressive and advanced disease.

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)

Our movement disorders care team will work with you to help you manage the symptoms of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and improve your quality of life. We work toward these goals through personalized treatment plans and therapies designed to ease the full range of physical, emotional and mental challenges associated with PSP.

Tic Disorders

We use a multidisciplinary approach with expert neurologists, psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers working collaboratively with patients to plan the best care program to reduce tics.

Tourette Syndrome

Our goal is to help our patients manage Tourette syndrome and improve their quality of life. We do this with a complete and multidisciplinary approach to care. Experts in neurology, social work and psychiatry work with patients to make a treatment plan for their specific needs.

Movement Disorders Cognitive Behavioral Program

Northwestern Medicine provides comprehensive care for patients whose movement disorders cause cognitive, behavioral and emotional symptoms.

Why Choose Northwestern Medicine

Two physicians with the Movement Disorders Centers of Excellence in discussion.

Nationally recognized quality of care

  • U.S. News & World Report ranks Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the top 10 for neurology and neurosurgery.
  • Northwestern Memorial Hospital is the only hospital to offer three designated Centers of Excellence for movement disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and Wilson disease.

Advanced procedures and technology

Deep Brain Stimulation

When symptoms are progressing and becoming more difficult to manage, advanced surgical procedures like deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be appropriate. DBS delivers high-frequency electrical stimulation to precise areas of the brain, minimizing the brain signals that result in tremors, stiffness, slowness and extra movements caused by Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia. It can offer many benefits, including the need to take less medication and therefore experience fewer medication side effects. Northwestern Medicine performs more DBS surgeries than any other health system in Illinois.

Botulinum Toxin

Botulinum toxin is a highly effective treatment for symptoms related to many movement disorders. Patients with abnormal arm, leg, or trunk positions, or one of various other movement disorders such as dystonia, blepharospasms, or hemifacial spasm may have dramatic benefit with proper injections. Botulinum toxin injections may also be used to treat excessive drooling, chronic migraines headaches, and spasticity.

Research and clinical trials

The Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center brings together the advanced resources of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, one of the nation's premier institutions for research into movement disorders. The school was recently named by the National Institutes of Health as one of only 12 centers in the country to receive the prestigious Morris K. Udall Center grant for Parkinson's research.

Through our center, patients have access to many ongoing clinical trials for all types of movement disorders.