Chronic, Degenerative Nerve Ailment
More than six million people worldwide, including a thousand in the United States, are affected by symptoms that range from minor tremors to serious physical incapacitation. There is no known cure for Parkinson’s disease, despite modest breakthroughs in pharmaceutical and surgical therapy. Clinical trials say specialists in the subject, are the best hope for finding one. That is the crux of the problem.
Despite the fact that the majority of physicians who treat persons with paralysis agitans think that clinical trials are required to find better treatments for the disease (more than 96 percent), the majority of physicians haven’t recommended a patient to one.
The results of a recent poll commissioned by Advancing Parkinson’s Therapies (APT), a collaborative effort coordinated by leading Parkinson’s groups, are among the highlights. The survey also found that, among Parkinson’s patients, 40 percent cite support groups and 27 percent cite others with the disease because the most typical sources of data about clinical trials. Only 11% of patients, on the other hand, receive information from their physicians.
Currently, but 1 percent of individuals with Parkinson’s are participating in clinical research. this is often far in need of the extent that researchers anticipate are needed for clinical studies over the subsequent two to a few years, including studies of therapies to slow or stop disease progression and to enhance symptoms like tremors. This disparity may lead to severe delays within the availability of recent treatments.
Potential Disruptions
Disruption at any point of a trial can have a variety of consequences, and it frequently comes at a higher cost to the program. It can also have a negative impact on the well-being or psychology of trial participants, which could affect readouts for that and possibly future trials. Patient identification and recruitment, as well as patient retention during the trial, necessitates the consistency and clarity of the different components that make up a study.
Information Barriers
Lack of adequate information about clinical tests was identified as a barrier to clinical trial enrollment. Only 14 percent of medical care physicians, 21 percent of neurologists, and 18 percent of patients surveyed indicated that they’re somewhat or very satisfied with the number of knowledge available about clinical trials for encephalopathy.
To meet this challenge, the Parkinson’s community has initiated a replacement campaign, Advancing Parkinson’s Therapies (APT), to create sure patients and physicians are better informed. The campaign seeks to handle information gaps and to produce physicians and patients with information on a range of clinical trials that are currently enrolling patients.
