Care4Dystonia, Inc. » Who We Are

Who We Are

Our Founder

Beka Serdans, RN, MS, NP carries multiple hats - that of being a patient diagnosed with dystonia and that of being an active healthcare professional and strong patient advocate. She has developed the innate ability to see all sides of dystonia - creating Care4Dystonia, Inc. in 2000 as an avenue to help publicize dystonia to the media. Beka appeared on the first ever television story on dystonia NBCs Dateline in 1998 with Dr. Mitchell Brin, MD in a story covering the use of Botox for dystonia.

Since then she has appeared in multiple media venues, more often writing about her own experiences and battles with the disease in the 2 popular books I’m Moving Two and I’m Moving On…Are U??. Both books have received wonderful reviews from several nonprofit groups including The Parkinson Disease Foundation based in NYC, acclaimed writers and journalists, NBC’s Robert Bazell and New York’s own Jimmy Breslin.

Her hobbies including writing, biking, gardening, reading, and most certainly traveling — “gallivanting across the Pond and elsewhere”. She works in multiple areas within Manhattan and resides in the “daily grind and highlife” of Manhattan in NYC. She completed her Masters’ degree studies as an Adult Nurse Practitioner in April 2006 . Her third book, a memoir, will be published in 2008-9.

If you’d like to book Beka as a speaker for an event, please contact her via infoc4d@aol.com.

To learn more about Beka Visit and read the following stories online :

Fun Stuff about Beka :

Favorite Color : Lavender
Favorite Movie : The Sound of Music, The Perfect Storm, Shawshank Redemption
Favorite Musicians : Eros Ramazotti, Laura Pausini, Spice Girls, the “80s”
Most Recent Movie seen : Sicko
Most Recent Book Read : Obama : An Autobiography
Political Affiliations : Independent !!!
Favorite Place to Reside : Muenster, Germany
Family : Two Younger Sisters residing in California and New York
Pets : None ( at least right now ! )
Favorite past-time : Beach combing
Favorite Places to Visit : Aruba, “any place with a beach ! ” and Salzburg, Austria, The Alps !

Our Advisory Board

The Care4Dystonia Advisory Board consists of allied, active healthcare professionals and primarily serves in the “advisory role” capacity, providing their opinions about awareness, medical care and education aspects as they pertain to chronic illness. Our members include:

Beka Serdans, RN, MS, NP, Founder (Acting Executive Director); New York, NY, USA

Sharon Dixon Canham, BS, BA; Albany, NY USA

Andrea Fassaro, Strong Health, Rochester, NY USA ( 1957 to 2007 )

Mary Jane Maltese, RN, BSN; Rochester, NY USA

Laurel Schroth, RN, CDE, BSN; Rochester, NY USA

Ex-Officio Jessie Drew-Cates, RN, NP, PhD; Rochester, NY USA

Honorary Scientific Advisor Michael G. Kaplitt, MD, PhD; New York, NY USA

A Note About Dr. Kaplitt

As a result of performing DBS on our Founder in 2004, in addition to their many collaborative media engagements during 2005-6; Dr. Kaplitts’ interest in dystonia and the application of gene therapy has re-spiked his interest in the rare disorder. Dr. Michael Kaplitt enrolled in the Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D. Program and received his Ph.D. in Molecular Neurobiology in 1993 from The Rockefeller University and his M.D. in 1995 from Cornell Medical College. Following his Neurosurgery residency and chief residency at Cornell, he completed a fellowship in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery with Dr. Andres Lozano at the University of Toronto prior to joining Weill Cornell Medical Center in July 2001. His clinical activities focus upon using minimally invasive, stereotactic techniques for the treatment of functional disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and epilepsy. He also uses surgical methods to implant devices such as spinal cord stimulators and opiate pumps to treat complex pain. Dr. Kaplitt has pioneered the use of gene therapy in the brain. He has published over 40 papers and has edited two books on this subject. He recently completed the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson’s Disease for FDA approval in 2003-4, his laboratory is actively researching mechanisms of cell death in diseases such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Currently he holds the position of Vice-Chairman of Research Neurologic Surgery. Source: Weill-Cornell Dept. of Neurosurgery.

Most Recent PD Gene Therapy News June 2007 :

Our Sponsors

We are grateful for the guidance, assistance and support given to us by Solstice Neurosciences, Inc. (2006-2008), Allergan, Inc. (2008 ), Mentor Corp. ( 2008 ) and Athena Diagnostics, Inc. (2006). Solstice Neurosciences, Inc. is the manufacturer of botulinum toxin type B, MyoBloc. Athena Diagnostics, Inc. is involved with genetic testing DYT1 Early-Onset Torsion Dystonia. Please visit both their websites to learn more about their innovative diagnostic and treatment measures and new patient care initiatives. Mentor Biologics ( 2008 ) is the developer of the new botulinum toxin , PurTox. Allergan, Inc. is a leader in the development and production of Botox ie. Botox Dreams Campaign.

Our Website Designer : Virtual Magpie Design

Virtual Magpie is run by Megan Elizabeth Morris, a designer and businesswoman, with over eight years of experience in print and web design, illustration, editing and idea-building. Megan is a design adventurer by day and mezzo-soprano by night, living in Austin, Texas. She and her dedicated staff create and develop attractive websites, Flash movies, advertisements, brochures and more based on the specific needs of small businesses, organizations, and individuals. Creativity is highly-valued by Virtual Magpie and since the launch of its new format, Care4Dystonia has become the most popular dystonia-oriented website available for patients and their families. If you’d like to visit Virtual Magpie or get in touch with Megan, you can find them both at www.virtualmagpie.com.

Website Stats :

2005 Unique Visitors to our Site : 30,521
2006 Unique Visitors to our Site : 40, 363
2007 Unique Visitors to our Site ( 12-31-07 ) 62,906
2008 Unique Visitors thus far : 30,985 (6-18-08)
- Daily Average Visits per day : 85