June 22, 2005

Majority of Physicians Who Treat Parkinson's Do Not Refer Patients to Clinical Trials, According to National Survey


-- Low Awareness Seen as Major Barrier to Clinical Trial Participation --

-- PD Patients Lack Information but Cite Support Groups as Primary Source of Data --

-- Parkinson's Groups Join to Create National Education Campaign and Web site www.PDtrials.org

to Address Issues --

While almost all (more than 96 percent) of the physicians in the United States who treat people with Parkinson's agree that clinical trials are necessary to find better treatments for the disease, the majority of physicians have discussed clinical trials with just 10 percent or less of their patients with Parkinson's disease (65 percent of neurologists and 54 percent of primary care physicians/gerontologists) and have never referred a patient to a clinical trial (53 percent of neurologists and 83 percent of primary care physicians/gerontologists). These are among the highlights of a recent nationwide survey commissioned by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Advancing Parkinson's Therapies (APT) campaign.

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About Parkinson's Disease
More than six million people worldwide, including one million in the United States live with Parkinson's disease -- a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that is characterized by symptoms that typically progress from mild tremors to complete physical incapacitation. In its final stages, Parkinson's may leave people unable to move or speak. Despite modest advances in pharmaceutical and surgical therapies, there is no known cure for Parkinson's disease.

To date, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has funded or directed more than $50 million in research. For more information on The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, visit www.michaeljfox.org.



http://www.michaeljfox.org/newsEvent...icle.cfm?ID=83