1,000 Thames Valley volunteers needed to help find a cure for
Parkinson's
26 October 2011
We have launched an appeal for 1,000 volunteers to take
part in a groundbreaking research
project in the Thames Valley region.
In 2009 we awarded our largest ever funding of £5million to
The Monument Discovery Award at the
University of Oxford for a project to
accelerate progress towards a cure.
One part of the project in the Thames Valley region aims to
develop new and better ways to diagnose Parkinson's at the earliest possible stage.
What the researchers are doing
The researchers are studying people recently diagnosed with
Parkinson's to spot the earliest signs of the
condition. Diagnosing Parkinson's before the movement symptoms
appear, combined with more effective treatments that can slow or
stop the condition's progress, will be crucial steps towards a
cure.
We urgently need more people to take part to help us build a bigger picture and help us understand more about the early stages of Parkinson's.
1,000 more volunteers needed
The research team still need to recruit 1,000 more volunteers to
take part in a series of tests. The thousand includes 700 people
diagnosed with Parkinson's within the last 3 years, and 300
people who have a brother or sister with the condition.
Dr Michele Hu, who is leading the study, explains:
"So far around 500 people have enrolled to take part in the
study and we are already finding some very interesting results.
"For instance, almost 1 in 5 people with Parkinson's in our
study have at least 1 brother or sister who also has the
condition. But, we urgently need more people to take part to help
us build a bigger picture and help us understand more about the
early stages of Parkinson's".
Still no definitive test for Parkinson's
Dr Kieran Breen, our Director of Research and Innovation
comments:
"At present, there is no definitive test for Parkinson's and no
way of identifying people who are at greater risk of developing the
condition.
"Volunteering to take part in The Monument Discovery Award
research is an easy way to help our researchers to look for the
earliest signs of Parkinson's, which will hopefully lead to the
development of tests that can diagnose the condition before
symptoms appear, and lead us ever closer to a cure."
You may be eligible to take part if you have been diagnosed with
Parkinson's in the last three years or have a brother or sister
with the condition.
10 centres in the Thames Valley region
The study is running across 10 hospitals in the Thames
Valley region: Amersham, Stoke Mandeville, Banbury, Kettering,
Milton Keynes, Newbury, Northampton, Oxford and Reading, with a new
site to open in Maidenhead/Ascot.
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