In December 2021 , The Michael J . Fox Foundation announced the relaunch and major expansion of its landmark clinical study , the Parkinson ’ s Progression Markers Initiative ( PPMI ). The study , which began in a cohort of Parkinson ’ s patients and control volunteers in 2010 , already has made major contributions to the understanding of Parkinson ’ s disease with the participation of more than 1,400 everyday people and a network of research groups worldwide .
More than
20k
people like you have partnered with researchers in the Parkinson ’ s Progression Markers Initiative ( PPMI )
Now the study is growing to include the full spectrum of Parkinson ’ s — from people who have not been diagnosed with the disease , to those who are newly diagnosed , to those with advancing PD . To mark the relaunch of PPMI , Michael J . Fox penned a USA Today Op-Ed urging everyone — especially men over age 60 and those living with specific risk factors for PD — to take part and help the study deepen understanding of Parkinson ’ s and accelerate the development of better treatments for the disease .
If I told you a simple action you take today could change everything about how Parkinson ’ s disease is diagnosed , managed and treated — not decades from now , but in the near future — would you do it ?
I don ’ t mean giving money . ( Though that helps , too . Research is unbelievably expensive .)
Better Brain Health | USA Today : We Can Help End Parkinson ’ s Disease 51