Dr. Chantale Branson 00:00:00
Previous studies have shown racial disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's, with Black people with PD receiving delayed diagnoses and being less likely to be diagnosed compared to other racial groups.
Dr. James Beck 00:00:21
Hi, I'm Dr. James Beck, Chief Scientific Officer of the Parkinson's Foundation. No two people with Parkinson's disease are identical, which is why ensuring diversity and inclusivity in Parkinson's research is critical to accelerating breakthroughs. It is critical to progress toward understanding the disease and critical to finding new treatments. Today, in this NeuroTalk, we highlight how our global genetic study, PD GENEration, is working to reach the Black and African American community through our partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine.
Morehouse is the first historically Black institution of medicine to become a research site for PD GENEration. Our partnership with Morehouse will help us increase enrollment of Black and African American participants into PD GENEration by 50 percent and, in the near future, help us ensure advanced medicines are available to everyone in the Parkinson's community. I now introduce you to movement disorders neurologist Dr. Chantale Branson, who is not only an expert in Parkinson's, but is also working to remove the barriers to care that exist for the Black and African American community.
Dr. Chantale Branson 00:01:25
History of clinical research within the Black community has been a bit of a challenge, given our historical societal history within the United States. While clinical research has come a long way from where it used to be, that doesn't mean the effects of the history of clinical trials have been erased. Previous studies have shown racial disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's, with Black people with PD receiving delayed diagnoses and being less likely to be diagnosed compared to other racial groups. Studying health disparities, conducting targeted and inclusive research, and more accurately diagnosing PD in the Black community will help us to advance research.
Morehouse School of Medicine focuses on providing care to medically underserved populations, particularly Black and African Americans at Morehouse Healthcare and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. A lot of my work at Morehouse School of Medicine is doing research with regards to understanding how to eradicate or remove the barriers and biases that are there, causing there to be a delay in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, the delay in treatment.
Morehouse School of Medicine is the first historically Black institution of medicine to become a research site for PD GENEration. The partnership aims to make PD GENEration genetic testing and counseling more accessible for Black and African American people with Parkinson's disease. By doing so, we hope to have a significant impact on improving clinical outcomes and increasing research participation among diverse populations.
Dr. Chantale Branson 00:03:18
Representation of the Black community is important because Black people with Parkinson's have been historically underrepresented in research. We want all of the populations within the U.S. to be represented within research, particularly when it comes to genetic research such as Parkinson's disease. There is no current estimate of how many Black or African American people are living with Parkinson's in the United States. Diversity among study participants in Parkinson's disease research is critical for our understanding of how the disease affects populations like the Black or African American community.
Looking to the future, the one takeaway that I want to share with the Parkinson's community is inclusion. While the industry still has some lengths to go to improve diversity and inclusion, there are numerous regulations in place to make sure clinical trials uphold ethical practices. The Parkinson's Foundation has done a lot with allowing participants to receive the results of their genetic testing and to provide genetic counseling. I want to encourage community members to take part in PD GENEration so they can improve their disease management, learn more about their family's risk for Parkinson's disease, potentially be connected to clinical trials, and impact the future development of improved treatments and medications for themselves and future generations.
Dr. James Beck 00:04:47
To learn more about PD GENEration or to enroll in the study, visit our website at Parkinson.org/PDGENEration.
