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There’s still time to celebrate the season with a special gift. Visit the Parkinson Society Canada website, to make a gift to honour or commemorate that special person and show your support for people living with Parkinson’s. Make your donation now to get your end-of-year tax receipt.

Message from the editor

Welcome to e-ParkinsonPost! This issue looks at research from the perspectives of clinician-researchers, clinical trial participants and ethicists, among others. We also alert you to exciting new research projects funded by Parkinson Society Canada. You will find a link to our new information sheet on Parkinson’s medications and a summary of novel and promising treatments … Read more

Bench to bedside: the challenges

We have asked three clinician-researchers to outline some of the challenges of getting new therapies from the lab to the person with Parkinson’s. The drug development process is lengthy. “The process of going through all the pharmacological studies in basic science and in different types of animals takes a long time,” says Dr. Michel Panisset, … Read more

Participating in clinical trials

First Person – Else Manz At 58, I was proud of my healthy diet, active lifestyle and my near-empty medicine chest which held only calcium and vitamin D. Life was good. However, I had also spent a full year quietly reviewing many sources, including my nursing texts, to determine the probable cause of the resting … Read more

Benefits and risks of participating in a clinical trial

Benefits Clinical trials that are well-designed and well-executed offer excellent opportunities for eligible participants to: Play an active role in their own health care. Obtain referrals to a study site. Engage care partners as companions in care. Gain access to new research treatments before they are widely available. Obtain expert medical, sometimes multidisciplinary, care at … Read more

Ethical Issues in Clinical Trial Participation

Ann Heesters Director of Ethics and Spiritual Care Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Marleen Van Laethem Research Ethicist Toronto Rehabilitation Institute What is a major misunderstanding people have about clinical trials? A clinical trial is a research study testing a new potential treatment. “Therapeutic misconception” is the name ethicists give to the misconception or confusion people have … Read more

New directions in Parkinson’s treatments

Slowing down or modifying disease progression Current drugs for Parkinson’s treat the symptoms but do not stop the progression. One of the biggest investments in Parkinson’s research is in trying to find a drug that will slow down or modify the disease progression. Azilect® The drug rasagiline (Azilect®) was studied recently to determine if it … Read more