NPF Programs to Improve Care

With a mission to improve the lives of people with Parkinson's disease through research, education and outreach, the National Parkinson Foundation works each day to change the future for people affected by the disease:

• Ensuring that every patient receives the best care possible;
• Advancing our knowledge of Parkinson’s disease;
• Searching for ways to improve treatments and change the course of the disease.

Contributions of our generous supporters have, through NPF’s long history, helped NPF discover and fund the people who have changed our understanding of Parkinson’s disease and our hope for its future.  NPF has long held the passionate belief that a comprehensive approach is the most effective. We consider all aspects of Parkinson’s care:

• Medical and surgical care from doctors and nurses, to ensure that people with PD get optimal medical management and understand their options for surgical and alternative therapies;
• Physical therapy, to help people with the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease;
• Occupational therapy, to help people maintain independence;
• Speech therapy, to help with communication;
• Counseling and therapy for the depressed or anxious;
• Exercise and nutrition programs;
• Respite care for caregivers, and more.

With this broad vision, we have found that, for example, by better understanding what physical therapy techniques are more and less effective we gain insight into how the brain works and how Parkinson's affects it.

Our cause is urgent--this year, more than 60,000 patients will be diagnosed in the United States, joining the one million people living with the disease in the US and four to six million world-wide.  NPF's research and education efforts are focused and results-oriented, seeking the highest impact for patients living with the disease today.

Read more to learn how your support can advance knowledge and understanding of Parkinson's disease.