Dr. Antonino Barbera was born and raised in Italy, where he practiced medicine until his late 30’s. During those years he did two fellowships in the US, where he then moved permanently in 2002. He worked as an Ob-Gyn until the age of 55, when he experienced his first attack of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). After the second exacerbation, less than 12 months from the first, he stopped his 31 years long career. Once he discovered that table tennis was alleviating his MS related discomforts, he founded Table Tennis Connections, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The main core of his organization is the NeuroPong™ Project, a table tennis program tailored to people living with Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Mild Cognitive Impairment/Alzheimer’s. He is a member of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society and of the Movement Disorders Center of the University of Colorado, School of Medicine. Using table tennis as a form of neurorehabilitation, he is teaching his NeuroPong™ Program, aiming to improve both motor and cognitive function of people living with the above-mentioned conditions.
