Drug Trial Participants Needed

The following information comes from an e-mail from Robin Elliott, Executive Director of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation in New York. It is about an important new program that PDF initiated and is now coordinating, a program called Advancing Parkinson's Therapies. APT is an effort to accelerate the development of new treatments for Parkinson's, involving all the organizations within the Parkinson's advocacy community, along with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and other interested groups. A major focus of the drive will be to raise awareness and increase participation of the Parkinson's community in clinical trials through a national public awareness campaign. Why is there a need to increase awareness of clinical trials for Parkinson's?

Clinical trials are an essential and necessary component for the development of new treatments for diseases. Without such trials, and the patients who participate in them, no new medications or treatments would be possible. Several factors account for the new urgency of the need for people with Parkinson's to participate in clinical research. Many people with Parkinson's do not realize that they are eligible to take part in a clinical trial and that by doing so they can help to move our knowledge of Parkinson's forward. In addition, there are some widely held misconceptions about how clinical research is conducted. Perhaps the most serious is lack of awareness of the rigorous conditions under which clinical research is conducted.

APT aims to provide better access to information about Parkinson's clinical trials, to increase awareness of the need for patient volunteers, and to educate patient and professional audiences on the value of clinical research. The goal of the campaign is to bring scientists, medical researchers, and study participants together to help make new treatments available, more quickly, to the people who need them. For additional information on this topic, go to this new website www.PDtrials.org<http or call 1-888-823-8889 for an informational brochure.

Marge Moylan.

Family Caregiving Training Program

The Mohawk Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross is offering a Family Caregiving program in Herkimer at The New Life Church and Ministry Center, 337 Protection Ave, Herkimer, NY

Programs offered are as follows:

April 18^th - Home safety – general caregiving skills

May 16 - Positioning and helping your loved one move - assisting with personal care

June 13 - Caring for the caregiver - legal and financial issues

July 18 - Caring for a loved one with dementia

Two one hour sessions will be offered each evening. The first session - 6:30PM and the second session - 8PM

A minimal fee of $5 for each session will be charged to cover the materials

For further information, call 315-866-2890 Mon. thru Fri. 9AM to 3PM.

“Artisans with Parkinson’s”

Another April Awareness Event will take place in Philadelphia. An art show called "Artisans with Parkinson's" will be held at Philadelphia Art Alliance Satellite Gallery, 3rd floor of The Rittenhouse Hotel, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA One of the featured artists is Kathy Harris, who will have 5 masks on display. A few years back Kathy’s sculpting had come to a halt due to the disabling dyskinesias that go with Levodopa therapy. After successful DBS (deep brain stimulation) surgery, Kathy has been able to resume her career. The show runs Apr. 2 - Apr 30.

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