Hi Carolyn –

Prior brain surgery does fall into the “exclusion criteria” category for many PD clinical trials, but not necessarily for every trial. Moreover, this may also depend on the type of brain surgery in question.

The FTF tool does take into account whether someone has indicated prior DBS or “other neurosurgery”, but some trial teams may have chosen not to categorically disqualify people who indicate “other neurosurgery”, as I’m guessing you may have, before they understand more details. These trial teams may prefer to have a conversation with "you" (any potential subject) first to understand exactly what surgery you underwent and determine whether you are a possible match for their trial.

My suggestion would be to be in touch with any trials you’re interested in, share more about your past surgery, and inquire whether indeed you can still participate.

Hope this helps, Debi

Dear Perry,

Thanks for your offer of input. I believe you have been in conversations with my colleague Laura about this tool as it was in development. Now that it is up and running in Beta, it would be very useful to have your feedback on its technical capabilities. I will ask her to reach out to you directly. I would underscore your other, very valid point…this tool alone will not overcome the varied and significant challenges in clinical trial recruitment. A broader effort is needed to make a meaningful dent in this and MJFF is thinking through additional program actions that it can take to contribute to possible solutions. More to come.

Debi