Parkinson's Awareness Week in the news
17 April 2012
Parkinson's Awareness Week 2012 got
off to a flying start yesterday with numerous reports
across national, regional and local media.
These included an interview on BBC Breakfast with our
director of research and development, Dr Kieran Breen.
Kieran talked about the launch of our Tracking Parkinson's study, led by Dr
Donald Grosset at the University of Glasgow.
Image: Our chief executive Steve Ford and Dr Kieran Breen,
our director of research, recording radio interviews
Widespread national coverage
Kieran was joined on BBC Breakfast by Paul Wilson, who
first went to the doctor about a slight tremor in his hand in 2005,
but wasn’t diagnosed with Parkinson's until 2006.
Kieran explained the rationale behind the study, which will
involve 3,000 volunteers diagnosed with Parkinson's in the past 3 years or before the
age of 50, and some of their brothers and sisters:
Kieran said: "We want to be able to diagnose Parkinson’s at an
early stage so we can treat the underlying cause of the disease
rather than just the symptoms."
BBC Breakfast - Parkinson's study: 'There is no
definitive test'
Thank to you to everyone affected by Parkinson's who has helped us in the media this week by sharing their story.
Our chief executive, Steve Ford, was interviewed on BBC
Radio 4's Today programme on Monday, with Bob Taylor, who was
diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1998.
Steve said that the Tracking Parkinson's study would over a
number of years create a "detailed picture of the development of
the condition and make it available to the research community
across the world".
Today
programme, BBC Radio 4 16 April 2012 - Steve Ford and Bob Taylor
interviewed about Tracking Parkinson's - clip starts
2:39 (available until 23 April)
Steve was also interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast on
Monday:
BBC Radio 5 Live
Breakfast 16 April 2012 - Steve Ford interviewed - clip starts
at 0:40 (available until 23 April)
'Trains and brains'
Other high-profile mentions included a report on the BBC website
homepage that the University of Glasgow is leading the biggest-ever
in-depth research study into Parkinson's:
BBC News - Glasgow
University leads biggest study into Parkinson's disease
The BBC website also features a great video of our research
director Dr Kieran Breen explaining how Parkinson's affects the
brain, making inventive use of the vintage signal box on the
Bluebell Railway between East and West Sussex.
BBC News - Health
Explained: What is Parkinson's?
In the papers
The Times, the Telegraph and the Independent all featured
stories about the launch of our Tracking Parkinson's study, as did
the Herald and the Scotsman.
The Scottish Sun ran with a story about Alan Fairbairn, who was
diagnosed with Parkinson's aged 36, and invited readers to contact
Parkinson's UK to participate in the study.
Highlights include widespread coverage from the BBC, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Scottish Sun, Sunday Express, Mail on Sunday, Prima magazine, My Weekly.
Not to mention regional and local TV and radio and 50 local newspapers.
Other highlights in the run up to Parkinson's Awareness Week
included Prima magazine, Mature Times, My Weekly, the Daily Record
in Scotland, S magazine (Sunday Express) and You magazine (Mail on
Sunday).
Local and regional coverage
Parkinson's Awareness Week has so far been covered on 23
regional TV stations and between 30 and 40 local radio
stations.
And it's been in over 50 local newspapers and on their
websites.
Thank to you to everyone affected by Parkinson's who has helped
us in the media so far this week by sharing their story.
And we're only on day 2 of Parkinson's Awareness Week so there's
still more to come.
Also in Parkinson's Awareness Week...
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