In his continued quest to outfox Parkinson’s disease, actor Michael J. Fox is calling on people with Parkinson’s and those without the disease to join the Fox Trial Finder, a new web tool that connects volunteers with clinical trials that desperately need Parkinson’s patients to test new drugs and other treatments.
Fox and his Fox Trial Finder are featured in the latest issue of Neurology Now, the American Academy of Neurology’s award-winning magazine for patients and caregivers, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Fox Trial Finder, created by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, helps people find clinical trials close to where they live and that may be a good match. It also empowers people by allowing them to take a proactive step in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. People without Parkinson’s can also join the Fox Trial Finder as clinical trials often need people without the disease to be studied.
“When I got my diagnosis, the first thing the doctor did was give me a prescription. If that doctor could have also given me a pamphlet describing something I could do to help myself and others over the long-term, that would have meant everything,” Fox tells Neurology Now. “So, that’s our vision. That’s what we are working toward every day. We want patients and the Parkinson’s community to receive the message: There is something you can do.”
The Fox Trial Finder is part of a larger goal to bring better treatments to patients as quickly as possible. According to Fox’s Foundation, less than one in 10 people with Parkinson’s ever participate in a clinical trial and around 85 percent of clinical trials finish late because of trouble recruiting volunteers. Research shows that the majority of people with Parkinson’s are willing to participate, but they don’t know about the trials and websites for clinical trials have been hard to navigate.
“One of the greatest privileges for me is to be in this position where I am constantly exposed to the creativity and passion and commitment of the Parkinson’s community,” Fox tells Neurology Now. “All the different ways people are getting on the bus, doing whatever they can to help move the dial. When the cure is found — and it will be — it won’t be because of me or our foundation. It will be because of all of us working together.”
Learn more about Fox’s story in the latest issue of Neurology Now and the Fox Trial Finder here.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 24,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, click here.
