I am a resident physician with a passion for Parkinson’s disease research that stems from my mother’s diagnosis of young-onset PD about 15 years ago. As I move forward with my career, I hope to study novel treatments for PD. I am wondering about your thoughts on enrolling in clinical trials. What kinds of trials are appealing to you? Have you ever been offered to enroll in a trial? What made you say yes or no? Would you be more willing to enroll on a clinical trial when your symptoms are less bothersome (a trial to hinder progression early in the disease) or when your symptoms have become bothersome (when you’ve had good quality of life for many years and have just started noticing a worsening)?
Also, would you be open to treatment with new non-drug interventions, like new wearable or implantable devices, procedures, or targeted, pin-point radiation to areas of the brain associated with PD?
I know everyone has a different level of tolerable risk, but your thoughts are still very valuable!