New Parkinson’s trial platform could “dramatically speed up the search for a cure”

News

Author: Saskia MairPublished: 14 May 2020

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Scientists have proposed the use of a multi-arm, multi-stage trial platform (MAMS) to assess different potential treatments for Parkinson’s and help progress the search for a cure.

This would depart from conventional clinical procedures, allowing several potential treatments to be assessed simultaneously. In a continuous process, each treatment ‘arm’ is evaluated and unsuccessful ‘arms’ of the trial are dropped, enabling a far more cost and time efficient system.

Currently, MAMS are used to evaluate treatments for certain types of cancer – and work is underway to develop MAMS for other neurodegenerative conditions.

Camille Buchholz Carroll, associate professor at the University of Plymouth, UK, and study author, said that MAMS trials could “dramatically speed up the search for a cure”.

She said: “We have the opportunity to learn from the experience in these other conditions and design a new trial that will work for people with Parkinson’s.”

To read more on this topic click here.

For more information on the latest Parkinson’s research please visit the EPDA website.

White blood cells could help diagnose people at risk of Parkinson’s, study finds

Last Month

Next Month

Go Back

Share this story

Comments

Recipes & Nutrition

Vegetarian ‘Beet Wellington’ with mushrooms, aubergines and garlic

A vegetarian twist on a steak classic

Insight into Parkinson’s: “I thought it was an old man’s shaky disease”

We talk to speakers at ‘Insight into Parkinson’s’

Painting a picture of life with Parkinson’s

Australian artist Timothy John describes his work

Osteoarthritis may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease, researchers find

Researchers in Taiwan have found that osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint condition, may significantly increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease for older adults. As part of the study, the researchers analysed the health records of 33,360 people living with osteoarthritis, aged between 50 and 64. They compared the records with data from a second group of 33,360 people, in the same age range, without osteoarthritis. The results suggested that those with osteoarthritis have a 41% higher risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s – and that individuals with knee or hip osteoarthritis are more at risk than those with joint pain in other areas. Shin-Liang Pan, senior author of the study, said: “Coexisting osteoarthritis and Parkinson’s disease can additively increase the risk of falling. Moreover, osteoarthritis-related mobility impairments may mask early motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Health professionals need to be alert to the potential link between these two diseases.”

Could virtual studies support Parkinson’s disease research?

Parkinson’s research is “hampered by inefficient recruitment and burdensome in-person assessments”, according to researchers in the US and Canada. But could virtual research have the potential to help solve some of these problems? Recruiting 203 participants from Fox Insight – an online clinical study sponsored by The Michael J Fox Foundation – the team assessed the validity of the participants’ self-reported Parkinson’s health information, and their willingness to take part in video-based research. Participants completed online questionnaires and attended two virtual visits, with a movement disorder specialist determining the likely diagnosis compared to the self-reported diagnosis. The study revealed that the participants’ self-reported diagnosis of Parkinson’s was accurate – and that 98.5% of participants would consider participating in a future study with virtual visits. The researchers concluded: “Our study demonstrates the promise of a much-needed novel model for conducting Parkinson’s research and highlights the potential of such a model for ……

Gait and tremor may be the best early predictors of Parkinson’s disease

Gait and tremor may be the most identifiable early signs of Parkinson’s disease, according to researchers from the US, France and Germany. The researchers analysed data from two large health-record databases, including an insurance company’s de-identified administrative claims. Selecting 8,382 participants with Parkinson’s disease, the scientists evaluated individual occurrences of reported symptoms over time – and how these corresponded to their Parkinson’s diagnosis. The analysis revealed a “pre-diagnostic window” in which symptoms were reported but no diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease was made. The most dominant symptoms in this pre-diagnostic window were abnormal gait and tremor, highlighting “the existence of a population of [Parkinson’s] patients whose diagnoses can be accelerated”. The researchers concluded: “Accurate, prospective identification of high-risk individuals would allow for earlier diagnosis, intervention and more effective large-scale evaluation of potential therapeutics.”

All fields required

First name*
Last name*
Email address*
Enter Email Confirm Email
Country of residence*
About me*
- I have Parkinson's disease
- I am a partner / carer / family / friend of someone who has Parkinson's
- I am a healthcare professional with an interest in Parkinson's
- I work for a Parkinson's disease organisation
- Other
CAPTCHA
*
- By proceeding you agree to our
Phone
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

New Parkinson’s trial platform could “dramatically speed up the search for a cure”

News

Author: Saskia MairPublished: 14 May 2020

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Recipes & Nutrition

Vegetarian ‘Beet Wellington’ with mushrooms, aubergines and garlic

Global update

Insight into Parkinson’s: “I thought it was an old man’s shaky disease”

Perspectives

Painting a picture of life with Parkinson’s

Osteoarthritis may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease, researchers find

Could virtual studies support Parkinson’s disease research?

Gait and tremor may be the best early predictors of Parkinson’s disease

{title}

Subscribe

New Parkinson’s trial platform could “dramatically speed up the search for a cure”

News

Author: Saskia MairPublished: 14 May 2020

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Related articles

Recipes & Nutrition

Vegetarian ‘Beet Wellington’ with mushrooms, aubergines and garlic

Global update

Insight into Parkinson’s: “I thought it was an old man’s shaky disease”

Perspectives

Painting a picture of life with Parkinson’s

Osteoarthritis may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease, researchers find

Could virtual studies support Parkinson’s disease research?

Gait and tremor may be the best early predictors of Parkinson’s disease

{title}

Subscribe

Sign in