Evolution Of Parkinson's Disease Trial Characteristics: 2005 - 2017

In the past 20 years phenomenal progress has been made helping researchers understand the chain of events that leads to the damage and loss of dopamine-producing brain cells in Parkinson’s disease. Treatment for PD includes pharmacotherapy, functional stereotaxic neurosurgery (deep brain stimulation), and supportive therapy such as physiotherapy, speech therapy, and dietary measures. There, however, are still no approved neuroprotective/interventional drug treatments for Parkinson's disease that have been shown to slow, halt, or reverse progression. A longitudinal analysis of PD study characteristics may provide a deeper understanding of clinical trials dynamics and demonstrate how research paradigms have been changing across the years.