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Actor Michael J. Fox is calling on people with Parkinson's and those without the disease to join Fox Trial Finder, a new Web tool that connects volunteers with clinical trials that desperately need participants for the testing of new drugs and other treatments.
Fox Trial Finder, created by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, was launched in July. It helps people with and without Parkinson's find clinical trials close to where they live that may be a good match for their medical history. People can be empowered by taking a proactive step in the fight against Parkinson's. Those who do not have the disease are encouraged to join 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," Fox said in a recent article in Neurology Now. "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. 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."
Fox Trial Finder (www.foxtrialfinder.org) is part of a larger goal to bring better treatments to patients as quickly as possible. According to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, less than one in 10 people with Parkinson's ever participate in a clinical trial, and approximately 85 percent of clinical trials finish late because of trouble recruiting volunteers. The majority of people with Parkinson's are willing to participate, research has shown, 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 said. "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."
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