Issn Print: 1533-7006

Publication Date: 2003/01/01


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UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH STEVEN JOEL FRUCHT, MD: ‘I saw many musicians with dystonia, and I realized that they were a population in need.’

Dawn Antoline

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Excerpt

Steven Joel Frucht, MD, a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders, considers himself lucky, for he has been able to draw upon a childhood gift and passion for music to help his patients. Dr. Frucht, an expert on dystonia, has combined his musical experience and medical expertise to found Musicians with Dystonia, a program of the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (DMRF) designed to help musicians cope with this debilitating condition.
Dr. Frucht's experience as a musician began with piano lessons at age five and continued with violin studies at age 10. He studied at the Juilliard School pre-college division, and was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center for three summers. He later developed a passion for medicine, particularly for clinical diagnosis, and earned his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1993.
Dr. Frucht completed his neurology residency at Cornell Medical Center in New York. In addition to chairing the scientific advisory board of the Musicians with Dystonia group, he treats patients with a variety of movement disorders as an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he teaches, writes, and conducts research on dystonia, Parkinson disease, and other movement disorders.
In an interview with Neurology Today, Dr. Frucht discussed his experiences treating musicians with dystonia and the mission of the Musicians with Dystonia group.
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