Local Resident Graduates from Parkinson's Research Advocacy Training Program

Local Resident Graduates from Parkinson's Research Advocacy Training Program
Aim Vernon

Local Resident Graduates from Parkinson's Research Advocacy Training Program
Recently, more than forty people living with Parkinson's disease (PD) from across the US, including one Highland Lakes resident, participated in the Parkinson's Disease Foundation's (PDF) Second Clinical Research Learning Institute in nearby Florham Park. The Learning Institute educated its participants about the ways that people living with Parkinson's can contribute to new treatments and a cure for the disease.
Local advocate Geraldine Mulligan was among the diverse group of business leaders, scientists and educators that traveled from 24 states to participate. Ms. Mulligan is a retired businesswoman who held positions with both small local businesses and a Fortune 500 company in New Jersey. Since she was diagnosed over 10 years ago with Parkinson’s, she has been very involved with her community and church. She recently decided to take a more active role within Parkinson’s advocacy.
During the training, Ms. Mulligan attended three days of courses led by national experts, who covered topics such as the basics of clinical research and discussed the potential new Parkinson’s therapies that are currently being studied by scientists. Back home, she is ready to work on a local level to impact the development of new therapies and to raise awareness among people living with Parkinson’s about the role that they can play.
Ms. Mulligan, spoke of her experiences, "I learned so much valuable information at the Learning Institute about how people with Parkinson’s can impact the development of new treatments for our disease. I believe that everyone living with the disease deserves to have access to this information, so I hope to work locally spread the word about the importance of clinical studies in finding new therapies. As part of this work, I am trying to establish an active support group in our area, which among other tasks, would serve to raise awareness about clinical studies."
Executive Director Robin Elliott, commented on the training, "The Parkinson's Disease Foundation believes that inclusion of the perspective and experiences of people with Parkinson's has the potential to benefit the clinical research process and therapies development. We are committed to providing the tools and resources necessary to make this happen – in the hope that the Clinical Research Learning Institute provides the foundation for these motivated consumers to become engaged and involved in a process that directly impacts their current quality of life and strives to find a cure for this debilitating disease."

Advil May Reduce Parkinson’s Risk

By Monika L. S. Robbins, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen may act as a neuroprotective agent against the risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.
In the observational study, participants who regularly used ibuprofen were 40 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease over a six-year period, according to lead researcher Xiang Gao, an instructor in medicine at HSPH.
These findings confirmed the results of a 2005 study that found that users of non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs—including ibuprofen—displayed a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
The current study focused on ibuprofen, which can be purchased over the counter in the form of popular brands such as Advil.
Over six years, 130,000 subjects self-reported their health statuses and specifically noted their use of ibuprofen and whether they had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The study found that 15 to 20 percent of participants regularly used ibuprofen, and 291 individuals were diagnosed with the disease within the six-year timeframe.
Despite the suggestions of a correlation between ibuprofen use and risk of Parkinson’s disease, the Harvard researchers said that the study’s findings cannot be used to reach any conclusions because the research was purely observational and did not examine causality.
The next step is to “take advantage” of the study’s findings by further exploring the relationship between ibuprofen use and risk of Parkinson’s disease, said Michael A. Schwarzschild, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and one of the study’s authors.
Schwarzschild said that it is not surprising that anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen may help reduce the risk of the disease, which involves inflammation of the brain. But scientists have yet to determine exactly why ibuprofen may be more effective as a neuroprotective agent than other anti-inflammatory drugs, Schwarzschild explained.
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurological disorder that progressively slows down movement. Dubbed “the shaking palsy” by its discoverer James Parkinson, the disease is characterized by a “rest tremor,” a steady shaking that typically begins in one hand while a patient is at rest, according to Schwarzschild.
The disease is also associated with dementia, depression, and other disorders. According to the National Parkinson Foundation, 60,000 new cases of Parkinson’s disease are diagnosed each year.
The study—which will be presented in April at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Toronto—also involved researchers Honglei Chen and Alberto Ascherio, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at HMS.