Our plan to cure Parkinson's

We're here to find a cure and improve life for everyone affected by Parkinson's.

We're the largest charity funder of Parkinson's research in the UK. Major advances have come from research we've supported – helping to improve treatment and care for people living with Parkinson's, both within the UK and worldwide.

So far, we've invested more than £50million in groundbreaking research.

Our research strategy | Our challenge | A cure | Our plan | How do we get there? | We need your help

Our research strategy

Our ambitious 5-year research strategy is pushing our search for a cure to a new level.

Our plan to cure Parkinson's - Parkinson's UK research strategy 2010-2014

Click on the link above to download, preview or order a copy of the strategy document.

Video - our plan to cure Parkinson's

Our challenge

127,000 people in the UK have Parkinson's. Most people with the condition are aged 50 or over, but younger people can get it too. One in 20 is under the age of 40.

People with Parkinson's don't have enough of a chemical called dopamine because some of the nerve cells in their brain have died.

Treatments can help to manage the symptoms. But we still don't understand why people get Parkinson's and no current treatment can slow or stop the development of the condition.

A cure for Parkinson’s

"A cure would bring an end to our worries and my uncertain future with Parkinson's. It would bring new hope to us and all those people touched by Parkinson's. It would be truly wonderful."

Roddy (pictured right)

We want everyone with Parkinson's to be able to live their lives completely free of symptoms. Everyone is different, so we’re going to need a range of treatments.

This may mean a combination of drugs, nerve cell replacement and therapies like exercise, that together can slow, stop or reverse the symptoms of Parkinson's.

Our plan to cure Parkinson's

Over the next 5 years our ambitious research strategy will push our search for a cure to a new level.

Tackling 4 fundamental challenges

Understanding why nerve cells die in Parkinson's to pinpoint and tackle the root causes of cell death

Developing new animal models of Parkinson's that recreate more accurately what happens in the human brain and help us investigate the different stages of nerve cell death

Faster, better drug screening so that promising new drugs can be moved forward into clinical trials as quickly as possible

Finding 'biomarkers' for earlier diagnosis that reflect the severity of Parkinson's and help predict who might be most at risk

Shaping our research

These priorities will guide our research funding towards projects that unravel what causes Parkinson's and push us towards a cure.

But we will continue to support innovative Parkinson's research across all areas.

This includes projects that focus on improving life for people with Parkinson's now.

How do we get there?

Over the next 5 years, we will:

• encourage a flourishing community of Parkinson's researchers within the UK
• work with other funders and industry to boost investment in Parkinson's research
• monitor Parkinson's research worldwide to spot key breakthroughs
• tell scientists about our priorities to get the best out of our research
• promote innovative projects to explore exciting new research avenues
• track the success of our research and our progress towards a cure
• show how our research helps people living with Parkinson's

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