Patient Perspectives on Deep Brain Stimulation Clinical Research in Early Stage Parkinson’s Disease

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Heusinkveld, Lauren^{a; c; *} | Hacker, Mallory^a | Turchan, Maxim^a | Bollig, Madelyn^a | Tamargo, Christina^a | Fisher, William^a | McLaughlin, Lauren^b | Martig, Adria^b | Charles, David^a

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA | [b] The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, New York, NY, USA | [c] Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Lauren Heusinkveld, BS, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1161 21st Ave S, Suite A-1106 MCN, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. Tel.: +1 615 336 1282; Fax: +1 615 322 0262; E-mail: lauren.heusinkveld@gmail.com.

Abstract: The FDA has approved a multicenter, double-blind, Phase III, pivotal trial testing deep brain stimulation (DBS) in 280 people with very early stage Parkinson’s disease (PD; IDE#G050016). In partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, we conducted a survey to investigate motivating factors, barriers, and gender differences among potentially eligible patients for participation in a trial testing DBS in early PD compared to standard medical treatment. The majority of survey respondents (72%) indicated they would consider learning more about participating. Early PD patients are therefore likely to consider enrolling in trials of invasive therapies that may slow symptom progression and help future patients.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, deep brain stimulation, surveys, patient preference

DOI: 10.3233/JPD-161031

Journal: Journal of Parkinson's Disease, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 89-94, 2017