Interviews

Dr. Tamine Capato: Advancing Horizons

An interview with Dr. Tamine Capato: Advancing Horizons on April 13, 2024.

Biography

I am Tamine Capato, physiotherapist, living in São Paulo (Brazil). Currently, I am working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) and Radboudumc (the Netherlands), both at the Department of Neurology. Outside academia, I am the Director of the PHYSICAL Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Rehabilitation Center, where I also provide physiotherapy care. After graduating as a Bachelor of Physical Education. I started my professional training to become a physiotherapist graduating in 2001. Following my training in the Neurology department at the University of São Paulo, I received the title Specialist in Neurological Physiotherapy (2003). After that, I became a physiotherapist at the University of São Paulo Hospital School in the Neurology Department (HC- HMUSP). I finished my master’s in Neuroscience and Behavior at the University of São Paulo-Brazil (2008). At the same time, I started work as a professor in the annual time course of the Specialization Course in Physiotherapy at the University of São Paulo- Brazil (2003-2019). I founded the clinic in Physiotherapy in Movement Disorders. In 2017, I decided to continue my scientific career and started as a doctoral candidate at the University of São Paulo, Department of Neurology, Movement Disorders Center, São Paulo, Brazil at the same time combined both doctoral projects at Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Neurology; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre of Expertise for Parkinson & Movement Disorders, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

 

Can you tell me more about your organization?

The University de São Paulo (Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP)), is recognized for its pioneering and excellence in teaching and research. It was founded in 1912 and offers five undergraduate courses: Medicine, Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and, most recently, the new course in Medical Physics. The Department of Neurology and Movement Disorders Center are based on Medical School Hospital (Hospital das Clínicas (HCFMUSP)), the largest hospital in Latin America. FMUSP has one of the largest scientific medical research centers in Brazil. Access the institutional folder by clicking here. Radboud University Medical Centre (Radboudumc) is one of the leading centres in Parkinson’s disease and it is a Center of Excellence by the Parkinson’s Foundation leading by Professor Bas Bloem.

 

What is your passion and how did you get involved in Parkinson’s awareness and hope for a cure?

I am dedicating my professional life to improving the quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease and related movement disorders. I am interested in systematized physiotherapy care in a multidisciplinary field and in research to identify and develop new approaches to improving gait and postural instability in these fields.

 

What type of goals do individuals with Parkinson’s have when working with you?

People are usually concerned about both static and dynamic balance control, including gait impairments, which are mostly affected. Balance and gait impairments respond only partially to dopaminergic medication. Therefore, non-pharmacological interventions such as physiotherapy are important elements in clinical management. According to the evidence base that emerged from this Class II study, I help people to overcome balance and gait impairments. 

 

What type of training and how long are the programs?

During my PhD trajectory, I aimed to study in my thesis the clinical assessment and management of balance and falls in PD by developing and evaluating an intervention to improve balance and gait. I developed a program of exercises to improve balance that is named Multimodal Balance Training Supported by Rhymical Auditory Cues (RAS-supported multimodal Balance Training) [1]. Training is performed for five weeks, two times/week. I also established patient profiles (subgroups) [2] and tailored doses of a balance intervention [1, 3].

 

What effect can it have on an individual with Parkinson’s?

First, RAS-supported multimodal balance training is more effective in improving balance than regular multimodal balance training. I suspect that RAS-supported multimodal balance training stimulates residual motor-cognitive abilities in PD more effectively than regular multimodal balance training. Second, the training effects (particularly those of RAS-supported multimodal balance training) were maintained for up to 6 months follow-up. Finally, the improvements on balance (scored by the Mini BEST) were significant and exceeded the previous studies.

 

What would you like to see as a future goal for your programs?

As PD is a multifaceted disease, future PD research should take a multidisciplinary and multimodal approach, focusing on different PD stages, subtypes, and diverse populations. Studies should also be designed to investigate methods that can disrupt social-economic barriers, and also decrease the caregiver’s burden. At this moment, alongside my collogues from Radboudumc (the Netherlands), we are also exploring benefits of an educational online platform in underserved Parkinson populations in Brazil (see www.walkingwithparkinson.com).

 

What events do you participate in?

In the last years, I have attended and served as a faculty of many national and international neurological Conferences such as International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (MDS), Regional MDS-PAS Congress, and MDS Regional Courses, World Parkinson Congress (WCP), and World Physiotherapy Congress (WPT), among others.

 

How can someone get in touch?  What is your website?

tamine.capato@fm.usp.br

 

How can others also become advocates for awareness? In your opinion what is the key to effective advocacy?

My best guess of advocacy is that appreciation for a diversity of ideas is key. Building a network collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and people who live with Parkinson’s is crucial.

 

What other activities do you undertake to help improve and support your daily living Eg exercise and alternative remedies?

I do exercise three to four times a week, and I really enjoy gardening.

 

Have you had any family members or relatives affected by Parkinson’s disease?

No, I do not have any family members or relatives affected by Parkinson’s disease. But I consider the Parkinson community as my second family.

 

If you had one final statement or quote you could leave for the Parkinson’s community, what would it be?

Understanding the differences in how people from different backgrounds (ethnicities) experience the conditions is important for improving awareness of Parkinson’s disease.

 

References

 

  1. Capato, T.T.C., et al., Multimodal Balance Training Supported by Rhythmical Auditory Stimuli in Parkinson’s Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Parkinsons Dis, 2020. 10(1): p. 333-346.
  2. Capato, T.T.C., et al., Multimodal Balance Training Supported by Rhythmic Auditory Stimuli in Parkinson Disease: Effects in Freezers and Nonfreezers. Phys Ther, 2020. 100(11): p. 2023-2034.
  3. Capato, T.T.C., et al., Effects of multimodal balance training supported by rhythmical auditory stimuli in people with advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease: a pilot randomized clinical trial. J Neurol Sci, 2020. 418: p. 117086.