The Michael J. Fox Foundation understands that it can be challenging to gain clarity and perspective on breaking Parkinson's news. Q&As in this section are conducted with leading experts in the PD field to quickly provide an informed, impartial opinion on new findings — and get to the bottom of their implications for people with Parkinson's and for researchers.
09/19/2008 LRRK2 and Parkinson's Disease
In the wake of Google co-founder Sergey Brin's announcement that he is a carrier of a PD-implicated mutation on the LRRK2 gene, The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Research team has assembled answers to fundamental questions on the field’s current understanding of LRRK2 and its role in PD.
07/10/2008 Phase 2 Trial of Spheramine Shows Disappointing Results
The Michael J. Fox Foundation spoke with David Standaert, MD, PhD, a member of the Executive Scientific Advisory Board of The Michael J. Fox Foundation, to gain a clearer understanding of Titan Pharmaceuticals' announcement of disappointing results from the Phase 2 trial of its symptomatic Parkinson’s therapy Spheramine. The announcement came only one week after the company had reported positive five-year data from its Phase 1 open-label trial of the same treatment.
06/18/2008 Rasagiline (Azilect) as Disease-modifying Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease?
UPDATE, JULY 14, 2008: Teva has announced plans to report top-line data from the ADAGIO Study at the 12th Congress of European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) on August 26, 2008 in Madrid, Spain.
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On Monday, June 16, 2008, Israeli drugmaker Teva issued a press release reporting that Azilect (rasagiline) was on track to become the first disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson’s disease. MJFF spoke with Karl Kieburtz, MD, PhD, about how patients should interpret the news.
In February, news media reported recent findings that calcium channel blockers — widely used, FDA-approved high blood pressure medications — seem to reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease. To put this breaking news in context, the Foundation spoke to D. James Surmeier, PhD, of Northwestern University. Dr. Surmeier received a $75,000 Rapid Response Innovation Award from MJFF to study isradipine, one such drug.
