Why the Clinical Research Learning Institute?
The strength of the Parkinson’s disease movement, like many other causes, rests primarily in the advocacy efforts of the people who live with or are affected by the disease. There is a critical role that people with PD can play in improving the clinical research process and moving forward the development of PD treatments, yet this perspective is all too often overlooked. Most of us would probably like to see newer and better treatments for Parkinson’s, and quickly. But in the final step of the process that brings new treatments to market – clinical studies – there are problems that may be slowing down progress. For instance, Parkinson’s clinical trials historically have low participation (which causes delays in approval of new therapies) and very little “patient-perspective” built into the process. With this in mind, the Clinical Research Learning Institute was created in 2008.
