Our 40th Anniversary

2009 was the 40th Anniversary of the Parkinson's Disease Society [now Parkinson's UK].

During the year, we celebrated the achievements made since 1969 and looked towards the future with a lot of hope.

What happened during our 40th Anniversary year?

Read about our achievements in 2009 on our Talk Parkinson's blog.

• Parkinson's Awareness Week - April 2009
• Parkinson's Brain Donor Appeal
  Launched during Parkinson's Awareness Week, with support from Jane Asher and other well known people
• Webchat on Parkinson's Brain Donor Appeal
• Parkinson's Disease Society Radio 4 Appeal - June 2009
• Parachute for Parkinson's - September 2009
• PDS10K - November 2009
  We launched our very own 10K run to celebrate the 40th Anniversary.
• 40th Anniversary materials
  Produced to help promote our work and tell the story of 40 years of the Parkinson's Disease Society.
• Hundreds of other events throughout the UK during the year
  If you organised something special for the 40th Anniversary please contact our Communications team on 020 7963 9370 or email us at pr@parkinsons.org.uk
• 40th Anniversary photos We set up a group on flickr - a photo sharing website - to bring together pictures of activities that took place around the UK

40 years of research achievements

40 years ago, very little was known about Parkinson's. A huge amount has been achieved since then, thanks to research we have funded.

• We know more than ever before about Parkinson's.
• We are closer than we have ever been to a cure.
• We have helped transform the diagnosis, monitoring and management of Parkinson's.
• People can now manage their symptoms much better thanks to a range of medications and therapies.

Visit our research achievements pages to read our 'Four decades of discovery' brochure and to listen to scientists talking about the search for a cure for Parkinson's.

40 years of supporting people affected by Parkinson's

• Our pioneering approach with Parkinson's Disease Nurse Specialists has benefited thousands of people with Parkinson's.
• Support and information is available for people with Parkinson's, their friends, families and carers via our helpline, this website, branches and support groups, Information and Support Workers and many other sources.

The time is now ...

• to make more discoveries into the causes of Parkinson's
• to make more specialist nurses available to more people
• to make high-quality services available for everyone with Parkinson's

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