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| Leslie A. Chambers |
March1, 2016
By Charles Moore
The importance of clinical trials to bring effective treatments
to market is critical,” says American Parkinson
Disease Association (APDA) President and CEO
Leslie A. Chambers. “However, many people with Parkinson’s disease lack a basic
understanding of clinical trials or why participating in a trial can contribute
to better outcomes for themselves and for the Parkinson’s community.”
To help get more vital information out about Parkinson’s
disease (PD) clinical trials, the APDA is launching a series of in-person
educational seminars titled “Parkinson’s Disease: Spotlight on Clinical Trials
— What You Need to Know,” to be offered throughout March in six U.S. cities.
This program is intended to provide an expert perspective on
clinical trials for Parkinson’s disease and designed to help people affected by
PD — those with the disease, family members, and care partners — better
understand what clinical trials are, reasons why they are important, and how to
become a trial participant.
Dates, cities, and and keynote speakers for the seminars are:
South County Civic
Center, 16700 Jog Rd., Delray Beach, Fla.; 2-4
p.m.; registration begins 1:30 p.m.; boxed lunch will be provided.
The keynote speaker is Nisha Chhabria, M.D., movement disorder
specialist, PD & Movement
Disorders Center of Boca Raton. Chhabria
will discuss the role of clinical trials in Parkinson’s disease; phases of a
clinical trial from idea to approval; participation in a clinical trial,
including consent, eligibility, schedule of activities, and how to find ongoing
clinical trials.
March 7
RWJ Fitness and
Wellness Center, Community Room,
100 Kirkpatrick St., New Brunswick, N.J.; 1-2:30 p.m.
The keynote speaker is Roseanne D. Dobkin, Ph.D., associate
professor of psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers, The
State University of New Jersey. Dobson and nurse practitioner Deb Caputo, NP,
APRN, BC, will discuss the role of clinical trials in Parkinson’s disease;
phases of a clinical trial from idea to approval; participation in a clinical
trial, including consent, eligibility, schedule of activities, and how to find
ongoing clinical trials.
March 10
Danversport
Yacht Club, 161 Elliott St., Danvers, Mass., 10:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m; light refreshments will be
served.
The keynote speakers are Marie Saint-Hilaire,
M.D., FRCPC, associate professor of
neurology and medical director of the PD & Movement Disorders Program,
Boston University Medical Campus; and Ray James, BS, RN, clinical nurse research coordinator at the PD & Movement
Disorder Center, Boston University Medical Campus.
March 10
Brooklyn, New York; keynote
speaker is Tara Hayes, MS, RPA, physician assistant, New York Methodist
Hospital.
March 12
Los Angeles, California; keynote speakers are:
Jeff Bronstein, M.D.,
Ph,D., director, UCLA Movement Disorder Program;
and Gal Bitan, Ph.D., professor, UCLA.
Bronstein was recently awarded one of six National
Parkinson’s Disease Centers at the Veterans Administration Medical Center with
the goal of furthering research, education, and clinical care in the Southwest.
His lab studies the cause of PD using cell models and a newly developed
zebrafish model. His work is supported by the NIH and private foundations.
Bronstein also directs clinical trials to develop new therapies for
Parkinson’s that include transplantation and deep brain stimulation. He has received several awards and is widely
published in the field.
The Bitan laboratory at UCLA focuses on developing new
therapeutic and diagnostic tools for diseases related to protein misfolding and
aggregation, particularly Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The laboratory
synthesizes novel molecules and explores their potential for diagnostic and
therapeutic uses.
March 15
Omni Chicago Hotel, 676
N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Il.; 11:30
a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; valet parking is free; entrance off East Huron Street;
complimentary light lunch will be provided.
The keynote speaker is
Tao Xie, MD, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology at the University of Chicago
Center for PD & Movement Disorders. Xie specializes in diagnosis and
treatment of various movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, and
uses medications, botulinum toxin injection and deep brain stimulation (DBS)
surgery for treatment of these neurological conditions.
In his clinical research, Xie studies the effectiveness of
DBS for the treatment of Parkinson’s, tremor, and dystonia, and the use of
DaTscan in the differential diagnosis of Parkinsonian syndrome. He is also
actively involved in clinical trials for Parkinson’s, PSP, dystonia, SCA6 and
Huntington’s disease.
The seminars are free, but registration is required. To learn
more about amy of the programs or to register by phone, click the location
links above for contact information on registering, or if you prefer and where
links are not provided, contact the American Parkinson Disease Association, 135
Parkinson Ave., Staten Island, NY 10305, call toll free 1-800-223-2732 or local
at 718-981-8001; or email apda@apdaparkinson.org.
The format of each event will include viewing of the APDA
webinar “Spotlight on Clinical Trials — What You Need to Know,” which was
recorded live on Feb. 9. The webinar features Boston University Medical Campus’
Marie Saint-Hilaire and Ray James, and provides an introduction to clinical trials, reviews the
role of trials in Parkinson’s disease, outlines the phases of a clinical trial
from idea to approval, and describes what is involved in participation.
Following the webinar presentation, a local clinician will
provide information on how to identify currently available trials for people
with Parkinson’s disease, discuss local trials available for enrollment, and
answer questions.
“There has been tremendous progress in how we treat Parkinson’s
disease since I started working in the field,” says Saint-Hilaire in an APDA
release. “This is thanks to thousands of great people who participated in the
studies to get new medical and surgical treatments approved by the FDA, or who
helped us show the benefit of exercise, or the role of genetics in PD. The
Parkinson’s community is very grateful to them, but we are not done yet. We
continue to need the participation of everybody to beat this disease.”
This seminar program series is funded by Acorda Therapeutics and
Lundbeck and provides an excellent opportunity for people to connect with
other members of the Parkinson’s community.
http://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2016/03/01/parkinsons-disease-spotlight-on-clinical-trials-what-you-need-to-kno
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