Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which often results in disability. If pharmacological agents could slow the progression of disease early disability, job loss, and nursing home placement might be delayed. This clinical trial utilizing a randomized, double blind design will evaluate the efficacyof one or more pharmacological agents for slowing progression of Parkinson's disease and will determine the toxicity and tolerability of these agents. The trial will continue to enroll patients with Parkinson's disease who recently started dopaminergic therapy, will be able to detect small treatment effects, will incorporate innovative sample follow-up methods, and will be able to distinguish neuroprotective effects from occult symptomatic benefits. This center will is one of 42 clinical centers designated to continue to participate in this study.
For people with Parkinson's disease, there is no greater priority than to find new approaches that will delay disease progression. The NET-PD project has been a special and unique source of encouragement to people with PD since it is dedicated to the discovery of strategies for disease modification and employs novel approaches to identify promising agents and to investigate their potential.
