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After being diagnosed with Parkinson's, I immediately set out to learn everything I could about this disease. The words "progressive" and "incurable" appeared in everything I read, but I kept telling myself there must be something I could do to change the outcome. During my Internet research, I stumbled across "clinical trials" and found a listing of PD trials being conducted in my community. I focused on one thought to have the potential to be neuroprotective. It had shown promising results in tests on primates, and was deemed safe in initial human trials. I made an appointment with my neurologist and showed him the trial information I had printed out. He hadn't heard of the trial, but said I qualified and asked me to let him know if I signed up. Why hadn't he known anything about a clinical trial with such great promise to slow or stop the progression of PD?
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I participated in the trial for two years, before it was abruptly halted. People given the actual drug deteriorated slightly faster than those given a placebo! I learned I had been on the lowest dose of the drug. These disappointing results underscore the message that there is no guarantee when you join a clinical trial. Even though the drug had shown great promise in earlier phases of testing -- it failed. Regardless, I am philosophical about my participation. If the drug had worked, I'd have been taking it for years before it ever made it to market -- years during which the progression of this horrible disease would have been slowed, or even stopped. As it turned out, I am glad I had been taking the lowest dose. The experience won't keep me from joining future trials. I'll do the same extensive research and take my chances.
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email us directly at: Sheryl@pdplan4life.com (c) 2015 PDPlan LLC All Rights Reserved Without express written consent, this material may only be used for your own personal and noncommercial uses which do not harm the reputation of PDPlan LLC, provided that you do not remove any copyright. To request permission to reproduce, please contact PDPlan LLC at Sheryl@pdplan4life.com |
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