Funding for Parkinson’s research

The money will be used to start clinical trials for drugs that have shown promise in slowing or stopping the progression of the disease.

Minister Hunt said he valued the work being done by the Australian Parkinson’s Mission.

‘‘The funding by the government of the Australian Parkinson’s Mission and the ground-breaking work that Australian researchers are undertaking in Parkinson’s research will give real hope to the Parkinson’s community that treatments will be discovered to slow or stop the progression of this condition,’’ he said.

Parkinson’s Australia chief executive officer Steve Sant said the research being done by the Australian Parkinson’s Mission focused on combining genomic sequencing with a number of drugs.

The hope is that by using these new methods, researchers will be able to slow or even stop the progression of the disease and it will lead to a better understanding of the underlying causes of Parkinson’s.

‘‘This research is innovative as it combines genomic sequencing with the trialling of a number of drugs that have shown some potential to slow, stop or reverse Parkinson’s to provide a transformative understanding of the underlying causes of Parkinson’s. The identification of biomarkers will enhance our ability to measure effective treatments and monitor the progression of Parkinson’s and facilitate early diagnosis and early intervention,’’ Mr Sant said.

‘‘Identifying treatments that slow or stop the progression of Parkinson’s is a big step towards our ultimate aim of funding a cure for, and preventing, Parkinson’s.

‘‘This funding will provide an opportunity to undertake world-leading research into treatments that have the potential to arrest Parkinson’s.’’

A potential outcome from the study is the development of personalised treatments for people with Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s is a chronic, progressive neuro-degenerative disease that can cause muscle rigidity, difficulty in movement and tremors.

Sufferers can also experience pain, anxiety, depression, problems with their memory and thinking, changes in their gastrointestinal system and have problems sleeping.

It currently has no cure and is more prevalent in Australia than leukaemia, breast cancer and lung cancer.

More than 13000 new cases are diagnosed every year and it’s estimated one in 300 people will be living with Parkinson’s disease in 2019.