What are disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s?

Scientists are currently exploring an innovative new way to treat Parkinson’s called disease modifying therapy. Unlike existing Parkinson’s treatments, disease modifying therapy targets the root cause of Parkinson’s, helping to slow down the progression of the condition, and give people living with Parkinson’s a better quality of life for longer.

We’ve collaborated with UCB and Novartis to create this digital guide to help explain disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s in five easy steps.

Scroll down to discover more, or download a PDF of this guide in five languages.

1. Parkinson’s is often being diagnosed too late

Parkinson’s is caused by the loss of the brain cells that produce dopamine, a chemical messenger that helps the brain control many bodily functions, including movement. It’s a type of progressive condition – meaning symptoms appear gradually and slowly get worse.

While the most famous Parkinson’s symptoms are related to movement of the body (such as tremor, stiffness or involuntary movements called dyskinesia), there are often earlier symptoms that don’t involve movement. These include pain, a reduced sense of smell, sleep changes, anxiety and depression, and showing less emotion on the face.

Sadly, people usually only receive a Parkinson’s diagnosis once they begin to experience movement difficulties, and by this time, around half of the dopamine-producing brain cells have already gone.

3. One solution could be Disease-Modifying Therapy

Scientists are currently exploring new and better ways to treat Parkinson’s: instead of just managing the symptoms, they want to target the root cause of Parkinson’s and slow down its progression.

One approach is disease-modifying therapy, which aims to target the cause of Parkinson’s by protecting the brain cells which produce dopamine.

Doing this could slow the progression of Parkinson’s and its symptoms, helping maintain quality of life for longer.

5. The Parkinson’s community can play a crucial role in researching Disease-Modifying Therapies

Researchers are currently testing potential new disease-modifying therapies in clinical trials to see if they are safe and work well.

They also want to find out who could potentially benefit most from different disease-modifying therapies, and when they should be used, as well as how Parkinson’s progresses in different people over time.

By partnering with researchers in these trials, people with Parkinson’s play a key role in learning if new therapies can slow disease progression.

Get involved in clinical research

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