According to Web of Science, Dr José Obeso is among the world's most cited scientists for 2008–2018. He directs the HM CINAC neuroscience centre in Madrid and is a leading specialist in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
In November 2019 Dr José A. Obeso, director of the HM CINAC integrated neuroscience centre, was included in the list of the world's most cited scientists compiled from Web of Science data by Clarivate Analytics. The list names researchers whose work is cited most often by their peers; Dr Obeso is among the most cited specialists in neurology for 2008–2018.
Contribution to Parkinson's disease treatment
Dr Obeso treats patients with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders and carries out clinical and laboratory research. Together with Tom Chase and Fabrizio Stocchi he was one of the authors of the concept of “continuous dopaminergic stimulation” as an approach to treating the disease, and he played an important part in the revival of surgical treatment for Parkinson's disease.
When the ranking was published his h-index stood at 81, the highest among Spanish neurologists. From 2010 Dr Obeso served as editor-in-chief of the journal Movement Disorders, and in October 2016 he was elected a full member of Spain's Royal National Academy of Medicine.
HM CINAC and focused ultrasound
Dr Obeso heads the HM CINAC integrated neuroscience centre of the HM Hospitales group, based at HM Puerta del Sur University Hospital in Móstoles, near Madrid. The centre studies the causes of Parkinson's disease and develops new treatments.
One of its main lines of work is high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU): under MRI guidance, ultrasound waves heat and destroy a small target deep in the brain with no incision and no opening of the skull. HM CINAC completed a study that provided Class I evidence for unilateral subthalamotomy in improving the main motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and began international studies of bilateral HIFU for essential tremor and Parkinson's disease.
Another project at the centre is the targeted, reversible opening of the blood-brain barrier to deliver molecules that might slow neurodegeneration. This is research, not standard treatment. For imaging options, see our article on PET/MRI in Parkinson's disease.
Who is suitable for HIFU
Focused ultrasound is considered for essential tremor and for some patients with Parkinson's disease when medication does not work well enough or is poorly tolerated and symptoms are predominantly on one side of the body. The method does not cure the disease or stop its progression; possible side effects include problems with walking or speech and involuntary movements, mostly temporary. Whether the procedure suits an individual patient is decided after a neurological examination, MRI and a CT scan of the skull; see also comprehensive diagnostics of Parkinson's disease.
Education and career
Dr Obeso is a neurologist and professor of neurology at the medical faculty of CEU San Pablo University. He graduated from the University of Navarra in 1976, trained in neurology and neurophysiology in San Sebastián and Pamplona, and from 1980 to 1982 studied Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders under Professor C. David Marsden at King's College Hospital and the Institute of Psychiatry in London, a period that proved decisive for his career.
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