Living at Camp Lejeune, which had drinking water contaminated with tetrachloroethylene (PCE), is associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s.

No one knows exactly what causes Parkinson's disease (PD), but scientists believe both genetic and environmental factors play essential roles. It is also not known why Parkinson’s cases appear to be on the rise. One theory is that industrial chemicals in the environment could contribute to diseases such as Parkinson’s, and new evidence supports this idea.

Recent studies have suggested that certain chemical pollutants could contribute to Parkinson’s. For instance, in rodents studies, when ingested, the industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE), a known human carcinogen, can cause brain damage and result in motor deficits. TCE does not occur naturally and is used in common household products, such as cleaning wipes and paint removers. Commercial dry cleaners also use the chemical. 

Additionally, one small study of twins in 2012 indicated that TCE was linked to a 6-fold increased risk of Parkinson’s. TCE and a similar chemical called tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a likely human carcinogen, are found in up to one-third of U.S. drinking water samples. However, only one small study had ever attempted to assess the risk of developing PD from these chemicals in drinking water.

In a new study published in JAMA Neurology, researchers analyzed the medical records of 84,824 veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC, in the 1980s. Camp Lejeune drinking water was contaminated with TCE, PCE, and several other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from 1953 until 1987. Wells that provided water to the base were contaminated by sources found on the base, such as leaking underground storage tanks, industrial spills, and waste disposal sites (largely TCE) and an off-base dry-cleaning business (largely PCE). Median monthly levels of TCE in the base’s water supply were more than 70 times the permissible amount, the researchers noted in their new article.

Study Results

• The study compared the Camp Lejeune veterans’ records to those of more than 73,298 veterans stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, CA, which did not have contaminated drinking water. From the medical records, they found that 279 veterans from Camp Lejeune and 151 from Camp Pendleton had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, for a prevalence of 0.33% and 0.21% respectively.
• Moreover, among those without a Parkinson’s diagnosis, there was a significant association of living at Camp Lejeune with diagnoses of anxiety, tremor or erectile dysfunction, all of which can be early signs of Parkinson’s.
• The study hypothesizes that TCE could be contributing to the more than doubling of Parkinson’s disease cases worldwide from 1990 to present.
• Overall, Camp Lejeune veterans who were exposed to drinking water contaminated with TCE and other chemicals had a 70% higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than Camp Pendleton veterans who were not exposed to contaminated water.

What does this mean?

TCE may contribute to risk of developing Parkinson’s. However, conclusions are still not definitive. The veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune may also have been exposed to other chemicals that could have contributed to Parkinson’s risk, such as vinyl chloride and benzene. Veterans could also have been exposed to other these or other chemicals before or after they were stationed at Camp Lejeune. More research is needed to determine whether exposure to TCE and/or other chemicals contributes to Parkinson’s risk.

What do these findings mean to the people with PD right now?

Even for people with Parkinson’s who had known exposure to TCE, it is still not conclusive that those chemicals caused the disease and/or are the sole cause of the disease.

Veterans with Parkinson’s who were stationed at Camp Lejeune for no less than 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, may be eligible for additional benefits. Learn more on the VA webpage, Camp Lejeune: Past Water Contamination.

Learn More

The Parkinson’s Foundation believes in empowering the Parkinson’s community through education. Learn more about PD and the topics in this article through our below resources, or by calling our free Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO (1-800-473-4636) for answers to your Parkinson’s questions.

• Veterans & Parkinson’s
• Episode 122: Environmental Factors and Parkinson’s Disease
• Veterans Benefits

While still in the developmental stage, gene and cell-based therapies for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) hold promise to improve quality of life. Learn how researchers hope these therapies might benefit symptom management and slow disease progression.

This article is based on Understanding Gene and Cell-Based Therapies in Parkinson's, a Parkinson’s Foundation Expert Briefing webinar presented by Roger Barker, PhD, Clinical Neuroscience Professor, John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, U.K. Watch the webinar now.

Scientists studying potential gene and cell therapies for Parkinson’s base their work on the understanding that the disease stems from a genetic predisposition that impacts a protein found in brain cells called alpha-synuclein. In people with Parkinson’s, this protein builds up (or misfolds) into clusters called Lewy bodies. When Lewy bodies amass and spread, it leads to the death of dopamine-producing brain cells. Dopamine helps us move, balances moods and influences our emotional health. Once a significant number of these cells have died, a person begins to show the movement symptoms of Parkinson's, such as tremors, slowing and stiffening.

Current Parkinson’s therapies relieve symptoms by replacing lost dopamine through medication and disease management and lifestyle tools, such as exercise and complementary therapies.

New frontiers in PD therapy research include:

• Improved medications to target the dopamine system and treat dyskinesia (involuntary movements of the face, limbs or trunk) associated with levodopa use.
• Experimental closed-loop deep brain stimulation (DBS), in which a DBS system can learn what's happening in the brain and control stimulation applied to the brain to improve symptoms such as dyskinesia.
• Therapies targeting alpha-synuclein through reducing its production, slowing the build-up, or stopping the spread.

There are also various approaches within investigational gene and cell-based therapies targeting PD. Some of these aim to:

• replace lost dopamine
• rescue dying cells
• regrow dopamine-producing pathways

Ideally, a person with Parkinson’s could benefit from new therapies while still utilizing current treatment options. Each area of research — including those aimed at improving symptoms and gene therapies that seek to help the body help itself — tackles different factors of Parkinson’s. In the near future, a combination of cell and gene therapies along with pioneering medications, surgical advancements and lifestyle management might offer the most comprehensive therapy for people living with Parkinson's.

Examining PD Gene Therapy Approaches

Different companies are pursuing the potential behind various investigational therapies. At the forefront of research are approaches designed to:

1. Regrow the dopamine system. This method injects a gene intended to act as a growth factor, or fertilizer, to stimulate brains cells to regrow the dopamine system.
2. Replace lost dopamine. This method injects a gene that converts existing cells to produce dopamine. These could replace the need for dopamine-replacement medication.
3. Rescue dying cells. New research holds the potential to rescue dying cells, which could offer a path toward disease modification. This type of investigation is designed to interfere with PD and slow progression.

Though still experimental, different strategies have been taken to explore the above types of research over the past two decades with varying levels of success.

Research Aiming to Strengthen the Dopamine Pathway

In 1993, scientists made a pivotal discovery: glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) — a protein that supports neurons (nerve cells in the brain) — is extremely powerful at regrowing dopamine nerve cells in a lab environment. This led to clinical trials where GDNF was infused into people's brains to try to regrow the dopamine system. The results of these trials are complex, and it is still unclear whether the therapy works.

Another gene therapy program that worked on the same principle was linked to those studies. The program connected neurturin protein (a similar substance to GDNF, though not as powerful) to the AAV2 gene. The investigation studied whether injecting the AAV2-neurturin gene into the area of the brain where dopamine is released would spur cells to take up the gene and promote dopamine fiber growth.

The AAV2-neurturin study went to a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (participants were randomized, some receiving the treatment while others received a placebo). The study found that:

• At 12 months, there was no difference between those who received neurturin therapy and those who did not.
• At the end of 18 months, people who received the treatment seemed to be doing slightly better, leading investigators to think a successful trial needed more time.

In its second trial, AAV2-neurturin gene was injected into two sites in the brain. After two years, the study showed no therapeutic difference between the trial and placebo groups.

After the GDNF and AAV2-neurturin gene therapies trials, researchers came together to identify what they learned. They concluded such therapies held promise, but recommended future studies take place earlier in the course of Parkinson’s. In the first 1 to 3 years of diagnosis, a person still has several functioning dopamine fibers. These decline rapidly after the first three years. By 5 to 15 years post-diagnosis (the stage most previous trial participants were in) there are few dopamine fibers left.

Today, companies moving GDNF gene therapy trials forward include uniQure and Bayer. Though not gene therapy, Parkinson's UK is pursuing the potential benefits of a protein infusion to boost GDNF levels in the brain.

Can we spur non-nerve cells to make dopamine?

Another PD gene therapy approach is to attempt to infect certain non-nerve brain cells to give them the capacity to make dopamine. There are two main approaches:

• Inject cells to create a synthetic pathway for dopamine in its entirety.
• Give someone enzymes that mediate aspects of the dopamine pathway, along with medication that converts into dopamine.

A ProSavin gene therapy trial relied on a lentivirus as the means to infect cells with pathways that contain the enzymes for making dopamine. Researchers delivered the gene therapy in a single operation on both sides of the brain into the area where dopamine is normally released. They found that using three different doses, delivered in slightly different ways, produced a benefit. However, the benefit was not as effective as DBS and other therapies.

Based on that study, Oxford BioMedica came up with a new gene therapy called OXB-102, which was later bought by Sio Gene Therapies. The study was to have three cohorts of increasing doses, however, the trial was stopped for financial reasons. We cannot draw firm conclusions; however, preliminary research shows the therapy may offer some signs of disease stabilization. Oxford BioMedica now has the license but is not developing the therapy.

Parallel to the above study, U.S.-based Voyager Therapeutics ran a trial using an enzyme associated with making dopamine. Researchers used a similar process — giving different doses to different groups of participants, correctly hypothesizing that giving more gene therapy would induce a bigger response. However, the study was placed on a clinical hold in 2020 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed unexplained brain abnormalities or changes. That same year, study funding ended to prioritize other research.

• Overall, dopamine gene therapies have yet to be shown to work, but researchers say they continue to hold promise.

On the Horizon: Glucocerebrosidase (GCase) Gene Therapy

A mutated GBA gene (that makes the enzyme glucocerebrosidase) is one of the most common genetic risk factors for Parkinson’s. Up to 10 percent of people with PD have this mutation in one copy of the gene. Researchers believe the GBA mutation can cause enzyme activity to drop, predisposing someone to PD.

A Prevail gene therapy trial currently underway called Propel injects gene therapy into participants with GBA1 Parkinson's. At this stage, the study is evaluating:

• Long-term therapy safety
• Immunosuppression requirements (due to therapy-related inflammation)
• The immune response
• Preliminary effectiveness indicators

Cell Therapies

Every person has about 400,000 to 500,000 dopamine cells. When a person has lost about half of those (200,000 or more) they begin to experience PD movement symptoms. Cell replacement aims to inject new dopamine cells into the brain to replace those that are lost or dying. Such therapy could provide the maximum benefit of dopamine medications with none of the side effects.

Trials have been going on since the late 1980s using human fetal dopamine cells. Around 2007, science developed the capacity to take a human stem cell (a cell that divides indefinitely and can be directed to become any type of cell) and turn it into the type of dopamine cell lost in PD. Allogeneic stem cells are those derived from another human. Autologous stem cells are taken from the person for whom they will be used.

Analysis suggests that younger people with less advanced PD fare better with cell therapy. Tissue preparation prior to implantation, post-graph length of immunosuppression to prevent tissue rejection and long-term follow-up also appear to be important.

Learn More

The Parkinson’s Foundation believes in empowering the Parkinson’s community through education. Learn more about PD and the topics in this article through our below resources, or by calling our free Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO (1-800-473-4636) for answers to your Parkinson’s questions.

• Genetics Behind Parkinson's
• PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson's Disease
• Join A Study
• Advocate for Research

Life with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is unique to every person. The journey to a diagnosis, symptoms and disease progression varies. Roshni Patel, MD, MS, believes that diverse and inclusive care practices and research recruitment are key to ensuring access to quality care for everyone, and to learning more about PD.

“There has been a push for more diverse and inclusive patient recruitment in Parkinson’s research studies,” Dr. Patel said. “And that push actually led me to a subtopic I've become very interested in – LGBTQ+ health and neurology. Not much is known about LGBTQ+ health in Parkinson’s. People with Parkinson’s have high rates of mood disorders, depression and anxiety, and it’s also been shown that LGBTQ+ patients with other neurological disorders have high rates of those symptoms, so I wanted to see if LGBTQ+ people with Parkinson’s may be at a higher risk for mood disorders.”

During her movement disorders fellowship at Rush University Medical Center, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, Dr. Patel reviewed recent self-reported survey data where she looked at the movement and non-movement symptom burden among LGBTQ+ people with Parkinson’s. This is one of the first studies looking at Parkinson’s symptom burden for LGBTQ+ people and could inform care practices for this population. She recently submitted her findings and is awaiting publication.

During her fellowship, Dr. Patel became interested in epidemiological research (the study of diseases as they relate to populations), where she used large datasets to answer questions. In her current role as a neurologist at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Dr. Patel splits her time between seeing patients and conducting research. While she has access to the VA system’s robust clinical database, she is excited to see the current trend in research is making more data open access.

“The move to make more data available for any researcher to access and analyze is really promising,” she said. “It offers the chance for new people to take a look and possibly see new things that the original researchers might not have thought about or looked at. It can hasten discoveries and makes things more transparent.”

She also believes that genetic studies of Parkinson’s, like PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson’s Disease, can make a big impact. “Access to data from a big genetic cohort will be amazing,” she said. “I think that data will speed up the rate of discovery in terms of identifying genetic risk factors.”

Lately, through patient visits, Dr. Patel has noticed a trend of increased telehealth neurology opportunities. The ability to see a movement disorders specialist virtually improves inclusivity since it simplifies access to care. One program she is excited to get more involved with offers telehealth neurology visits to veterans in rural areas who do not have access to a neurologist. Participants wear a device similar to an accelerometer that measures their movements and generates a report that helps their doctor see their movement response to their medications.

“This program will be a good proof of concept to show that in a cohort of telemedicine-only Parkinson’s patients, a doctor could manage their movement Parkinson’s symptoms with a remote body-worn sensing device that provides objective data. Something like this has the potential to greatly increase access to care.”

Dr. Patel credits her Parkinson’s Foundation fellowship for her deep interest in leveraging data to find Parkinson’s disease trends and information that can be helpful for doctors and people with PD — along with her passion for improving inclusivity in PD research and care.

“This unique two-year fellowship gave me time to both care for patients and develop a research interest and learn more about the research process,” she said. “Research fellowships need funding. The Parkinson’s Foundation is essential because it allowed Rush to provide that fellowship to me.”

The Parkinson’s Foundation is proud to provide several types of grants that encourage young clinicians and researchers like Dr. Patel to devote their talents to the study of Parkinson's disease.

For more information on our research grants, visit Parkinson.org/Grants.

Researchers announced results from the largest study yet of a new test to detect Parkinson’s — it confirmed that the test was accurate, even for early Parkinson’s.

There is currently no single test that can confirm a Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis. Doctors rely on symptoms and in-office tests to make a diagnosis, meaning the disease has most likely progressed years before symptoms are present. However, a recent study adds promising new data to bolster support for a test that may allow Parkinson’s to be diagnosed before symptoms appear and may help inform Parkinson’s clinical trials.

A hallmark of Parkinson’s is a protein called alpha-synuclein, which is involved in normal brain cell function. However, for many with Parkinson’s, the alpha-synuclein protein clumps or misfolds, meaning it is not shaped properly. Certain forms of misfolded alpha-synuclein may act as “seeds” that spread and lead to misfolding of healthy alpha-synuclein. These misfolded proteins can clump together, and eventually kill brain cells.

Prior work supported by the Parkinson’s Foundation, has shown that the alpha-synuclein “seeds” can spread from cell to cell, much like the dye from a red sock in the washing machine can turn everything pink. Because these protein “seeds” are at very low levels, researchers have re-purposed technology originally developed 20 years ago to test for prion diseases to amplify the misfolded alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s. The test is called an alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (SAA). Several small studies have previously shown that this test can distinguish between people who do or do not have Parkinson’s.

On April 12, 2023 The Lancet published the largest test of alpha-synuclein SAA to-date. Andrew Siderowf, MD, neurologist at University of Pennsylvania, Luis Concha-Marambio, PhD, research and development director at Amprion, and colleagues analyzed samples from 1,123 participants who were enrolled in the Michael J Fox Foundation’s Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), which includes individuals from 33 outpatient neurology practices worldwide.

The participants included 163 healthy volunteers, 545 people with Parkinson disease, 54 people who had evidence of the disease on brain scans, 51 people who had conditions that often later develop Parkinson’s (but did not yet have Parkinson’s symptoms), and 310 people who had gene mutations that are associated with Parkinson’s but did not yet show symptoms.

The alpha-synuclein SAA test detected early Parkinson’s 87% of the time. In volunteers who did not have Parkinson’s, the test showed the absence of the disease 96% of the time. Surprisingly, only 70% of individuals with mutations in their LRRK2 gene, which has been associated with Parkinson’s, had abnormal alpha-synuclein. This observation could have implications for LRRK2 treatments that are currently being developed — perhaps not all individuals with LRRK2 mutations will respond equally to the treatment.

The test’s ability to detect early abnormal alpha-synuclein Parkinson’s makes it a promising potential tool. Though it is not currently commercially available for diagnosing Parkinson’s, it may soon become useful in Parkinson’s clinical trials by helping researchers learn more about the individuals enrolled and in recruiting people at earlier stages. An editorial in The Lancet called it “a game-changer in Parkinson’s disease diagnostics, research, and treatment trials.”

Study Results

• Alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay detected early Parkinson’s 87% of the time
• In volunteers who did not have Parkinson’s, the test showed the absence of the disease 96% of the time

What does this mean?

This method of detecting abnormal alpha-synuclein could be an effective way to detect Parkinson’s years before symptoms appear. Earlier detection would allow for earlier treatment once researchers identify a successful disease-modifying drug. In addition, in its current form, the test can only tell if a person has abnormal alpha-synuclein, NOT how much and how it is changing over time.

Additionally, researchers could use this method to recruit people with early-stage Parkinson’s to clinical trials. It could also help determine the effectiveness of treatments in clinical studies. For example, if a drug treatment reduces abnormal alpha-synuclein over time, it could indicate that the treatment is having an effect.

However, a downside to this test is that it requires a lumbar puncture, also called a spinal tap, to obtain samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A lumbar puncture can be uncomfortable and requires a specialist physician. It may also cause short-term side effects like headache.

Research Springboard

Studying seed amplification assays to detect and monitor the progression of Parkinson's is a large and growing field of research that brings hope. In 2014, SAA's were applied specifically to detect alpha-synuclein, and researchers have been working on improving them ever since.

Researchers in the PD field are working to develop a quantitative test — an alpha-synuclein SAA test — that finds the presence of alpha-synuclein and measures the amount of abnormal alpha-synuclein. A test like this could be used to see if the alpha-synuclein amount changes with the disease progression, symptom appearance and specific treatments. The hope is to develop an alpha-synuclein SAA test using samples from blood, nasal mucosa, skin and other body fluids that do not require an invasive procedure.

Concurrently to this study, Parkinson's Foundation research grantee, Giovanni Bellomo, PhD, is looking into ways to improve the alpha-synuclein SAA test. Dr. Bellomo is studying whether mucus in the nose can be used to detect SAA, instead of cerebrospinal fluid. Early PD-related alpha-synuclein changes can be found in the olfactory mucosa, which is collected using a swab to scrape the inside of the nose. Dr. Bellomo will compare the results of SAAs and olfactory mucosa collected from people with and without PD. This non-intrusive test would represent a breakthrough in Parkinson's diagnosis, as no such test currently exists.

In addition, he is looking into developing a more clinically useful test that can be reproduced (obtain the same results) in different labs. Lastly, Dr. Bellomo and his team are also developing a way to utilize SAA’s to measure the amount of abnormal alpha-synuclein and how it correlates with movement and non-movement symptoms. The first results of Dr. Bellomo studies were published on April 1, 2023. Learn more about this current study. 

What do these findings mean to the people with PD right now?

Although alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay may be available through a doctor’s office, it is not yet a standard of care and it does not change how doctors diagnose and treat PD. Questions remain about interpreting the results, especially for people who have may genetic forms of PD or do not yet show symptoms of PD. Therefore, it will require additional research and time before the test could become useful as part of routine care. In addition, the test is not covered by medical insurance and is cost prohibitive. Nevertheless, studies like this one are an important step toward allowing the medical research field to establish a test that can help doctors diagnose and track disease progression.

Learn More

The Parkinson’s Foundation believes in empowering the Parkinson’s community through education. Learn more about PD and the topics in this article through our below resources, or by calling our free Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO (1-800-473-4636) for answers to your Parkinson’s questions.

• Podcast Episode 59: Understanding Biomarkers to Deliver Precise Treatments
• Protein May Hold Clues to Development of Parkinson’s

More than 10,000 neurology professionals gathered to learn the latest in research and treatments at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Boston, MA. This year, the Parkinson’s Foundation hosted a presentation and shared two posters in research and care. Notably, the Foundation’s PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson’s study received special distinction and was selected as an oral presentation as part of the session on Movement Disorders Genetics and Risk.

1.  Screening and Treatment of Depression in Parkinson's Disease Within Movement Disorders Centers

It is estimated that 50% of people with Parkinson’s experience depression. Regularly screening for depression among people with PD can help identify untreated depression and prompt treatment. In this new study using data from our Parkinson’s Outcomes Project, we studied whether offering a systematic screening for depression (including the use of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15)), can help improve quality of life.

Study takeaways:

• Five Centers of Excellence began providing depression screening, diagnosis and treatment practices, and evaluated them through medical record reviews.
• During the implementation phase, when the formal screening rates where all done with a validated screening instrument (GDS-15) it was found that 68% of people with Parkinson’s reported symptoms of depression across the five sites.
• Prior to offering a systematic depression screening, screening rates for depression ranged anywhere from 56 to 92%, but only 14% used a validated screening instrument.
• Systematic screening for depression will help improve the standard of care and quality of life by educating clinicians and people with PD.

VIEW THE POSTER

Authors: James C. Beck, PhD, Janis Miyasaki, MD,FAAN, Connie C. Marras, MD, Nabila Dahodwala, MD,FAAN, Kelly A. Mills, MD, Meredith Spindler, MD,FAAN, Daniel Weintraub, Eugene Nelson, Sneha Mantri, MD, Amy Brown, MD, Anna Naito, PhD, Zachary Meyer, Allison Marie Allen, Marilyn Neault, PhD

2.  Frequency of Known Genetic Variants for Parkinson’s Disease in the PD GENEration Study Cohort

This presentation assessed the prevalence of genetic variants for PD through the Parkinson’s genetics study, PD GENEration. Widespread genetic testing will help inform previously unsuspected individuals with PD that they have a genetic mutation in one of the seven major genes known for PD, and ultimately qualify more people for enrollment in genetic-based PD clinical trials.

Study takeaways:

• PD GENEration genetic testing shows that among participants, ~13% have a genetic variant linked to Parkinson’s.
• Although reportable variants were more likely to be found in those with either young-onset PD high-risk ancestry or a positive family history, 8% of those without these features had a genetic variant for PD.

Authors: James Beck, Kamalini Ghosh Galvelis, Martha Nance, Anna Naito, Niccolo Mencacci, Ignacio Mata, Anne Hall, Jeanine Schulze, Rayza Priscila Hodges, Anne Marie Wills, Michael Schwarzschild, Karen Marder, Tanya Simuni, Mandy Miller, Jennifer Verbrugge, Lola Cook, Laura Heathers, Michelle Totten, Tatiana Foroud, Roy Alcalay

3. Outpatient Palliative Care for Parkinson’s Disease: Results from a National Survey

Palliative care, also known as supportive care, addresses physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs to improve the quality of life for a person with Parkinson’s and their family. Emerging evidence also shows that receiving palliative care improves patient and family-centered outcomes. However, little is known about the availability of resources and current practices among physicians in addressing palliative care needs in their clinics. The goal of this study is to describe the current availability of outpatient palliative care for people with Parkinson’s and their care partners at 33 US Parkinson’s Foundation Centers of Excellence.

Study takeaways:

• A survey was sent to 665 healthcare professionals across 33 Centers of Excellence in the U.S.
• Survey results show that among doctors:
  • 58% use a screening tool to assess non-movement symptoms
  • 6% report managing pain
  • 44% report managing depression and anxiety
  • 15% screen for grief, guilt and additional spiritual concerns
  • 4% report they discuss and review advance care planning documentation
• Many physicians are currently assessing and managing important palliative care needs for their patients with room for improvement in certain key components.
• Non-movement symptom screening is a more utilized palliative care component while referral to hospice when appropriate and discussing advanced care planning are reported less.

view the pOSTER

Authors: Kei Sugiura, MD; Umer Akbar, MD; Sandhya Seshadri, PhD, MA, MS; Megan Dini, MA; Peggy Auinger, MS; Sally A. Norton, PhD, RN; Jodi Summers Holtrop, PhD;  Benzi M. Kluger, MD, MS

Stay up to date with the latest Parkinson’s Foundation programs, research and happenings in our Parkinson’s Today blog.