We’re offering generous compensation to the patients taking part and also the physicians referring them. If you are a member of the M3 Global Research panel, contact M3_US_support@eu.m3.com to find out if you qualify. If you are a patient who is not a member and wish to participate, please register by clicking here if you are in the USA and here if you are in Germany. You will then receive an invite by email.
Around seven to 10 million people worldwide live with Parkinson’s disease, a condition that currently has no cure. For this year’s WordParkinson’s Day, Parkinson’s UK, a charity that works towards finding a cure and improving life for everyone affected by the condition, has launched the campaign #UniteForParkinsons. It aims to give voice and platform to the Parkinson’s community by featuring their experiences in a world-wide campaign video and encouraging others to do the same. Watch it here:
Complexity of Parkinson's is massively underestimated in the United Kingdom
In a survey to mark World Parkinson’s Day (Wednesday 11 April), Parkinson’s UK has discovered that 78% of the public massively underestimate how many symptoms of Parkinson’s there are. Although most people are aware of visible symptoms like tremor, Parkinson’s can also come with more than 40 less well-known symptoms such as sleep issues, anxiety and hallucinations. Shockingly, more than a third (37%) thought there were fewer than ten symptoms of Parkinson’s and more than 41% thought there were fewer than 30.
The charity is warning that this lack of awareness means that people with Parkinson’s often feel they need to hide their symptoms in public, or don’t want to go out at all due to being incorrectly judged or mocked. Previous findings from the charity have uncovered:
- A quarter (25%) have had symptoms mistaken for drunkenness
- 11% have been laughed at because of their symptoms
- More than a third (34%) feel they would be judged if they were out in public
- Almost a third (32%) don’t feel like their symptoms are socially acceptable
These symptoms are merely the tip of the iceberg, it warns, and do not reflect what people with Parkinson’s most want addressing. In a recent project carried out by the charity to identify priorities to focus on for improving everyday life, tremor came 26th on a list of what people with Parkinson’s want research to tackle.
Artificial Intelligence to help develop new Parkinson's treatments
Parkinson’s UK is actively involved in research, and recently one of its research proposals has won the BenevolentAI Award. The project demonstrated how AI technology could solve specific research challenges in Parkinson’s.
There have been no major breakthroughs in Parkinson’s treatments in the last 50 years. Current treatments revolve around medication that works by restoring the level of dopamine in the brain or mimicking its actions; deep brain stimulation (DBS), a type of surgery where electrodes are implanted deep inside specific parts of the brain, but which is not suitable for every patient; and physical therapies such as physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, that are important in the management of the condition.
Parkinson’s UK’s proposal will use BenevolentAI platform’s capabilities to reason, deduce and suggest entirely new treatments for Parkinson’s. The aim is to identify at least three currently available medicines that can be repurposed to address Parkinson’s, and two brand-new ways to treat the condition with new drugs. Read more about the project: Artificial intelligence to help develop new Parkinson’s treatments.
*All rights belong to Parkinson’s UK. We would like to thank the charity for sharing this content with us.
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Having Parkinson’s can feel overwhelming if you don’t have the right information and support. We’re here to help everyone feel in control of life with Parkinson’s.