Parkinson's disease clinical research

Parkinson's disease clinical research (also known as clinical trials, medical research, research studies, or clinical studies) is any study intended to help answer questions about etiology, diagnostic approaches or new treatments by studying their effects on human subjects. Clinical trials are designed and conducted by scientists and medical experts, who invite participants to undergo testing new vaccines, therapies, or treatments.

Only a small fraction of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) participate in clinical research and specially in clinical trials. When clinical trials lack participation, it causes a significant delay in the development of new drugs and treatments.

One of the purposes of clinical research is to test the safety and efficacy of new treatments. Clinical research may also be conducted to learn other things about medical treatments or procedures, such as how to make an earlier diagnosis or how the treatment interacts with other drugs.

Though there are many types of clinical research, the two most common are interventional and observational. For example, researchers trying to identify causes of PD may conduct an observational study to examine genetic or environmental factors that may have triggered the disease in an individual. Natural history studies that evaluate how Parkinson's affects different people and how it changes over time are another example of observational research. Diagnostic accuracy studies are used to investigate how well a test, or a series of tests, are able to correctly identify diseased patients.

Researchers conducting clinical trials test the impact of treatments. These can include changing behavior, taking medications, or performing surgery. Interventional and observational research are equally important in helping to answer questions, develop new treatments, and ultimately find a cure for Parkinson's. Clinical trials are conducted in a series of phases.

Among the interventional and observational studies for Parkinson's disease, research is ongoing in a number of specific areas.

Quality of life research investigates the function that physical therapy, occupational therapy, exercise or other interventions may play in the quality of life of persons with Parkinson's disease. Persons with Parkinson's disease may experience motor symptoms (tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement, postural instability and gait dysfunctions) as well as non-motor symptoms (neuropsychiatric symptoms, autonomic dysfunction, or other; see Parkinson's disease). Due to this diversity of symptoms, Parkinson's disease may impact upon an individual’s physical, social and mental well-being. For example, difficulties with movement can lead to difficulties with self-care, embarrassment, social-isolation, and depression.

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