Michael J Fox charity 'funds new Parkinson's study'

A major study into the progression of Parkinson's disease, co-ordinated by the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, will involve 400 people from the US and five different European sites, including Britain.

There is currently no way of tracking the progression of Parkinson's disease and the study hopes to find biomarkers in those in the early stages of the condition, who have not yet been treated.

If successful, these biomarkers would improve patient care, help to discover new drugs and further understanding of the condition.

Fox, who was diagnosed with the condition aged 40, emphasised the importance of the research, with the Press Association reporting him as saying: "better treatments aren't going to fall from the sky" and that "real challenges stand in the way of the results we need".

This comes after neurologists from Loyola University Health System wrote in journal Frontiers in Neurology that age related neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, stroke and dementia will increase as the population ages.

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