Parkinson’s Disease

For more than three decades, the Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders Center at Boston University Medical School has been at the forefront of a worldwide effort to combat Parkinson’s disease (PD) and improve the lives of those who have it. PD affects more than 1 million people in the United States annually, with at least 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The chronic, progressive neurodegenerative aging disorder is the second most common one, after Alzheimer’s disease.

The BUSM center has been designated an American Parkinson’s Disease Association Center for Advanced Research—one of only eight nationwide. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the center’s clinicians and researchers work together to provide comprehensive care, from diagnosis through lifetime treatment.

Scientists believe PD arises from an interplay of genetics and the environment, including exposure to pesticides and heavy metals. BUSM researchers are investigating both fronts. They develop new drugs and therapies, which they test in myriad clinical trials, including the multicenter Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative Study, Telehealth Treatment of Depression in Parkinson’s, and Evaluation of a New Medication for Early Parkinson’s. BUSM researchers are also identifying new compounds that appear to protect brain cells from damage, possibly delaying onset or slowing progression. Through treatments at the center, including deep brain stimulation, physical therapy, and exercise, many patients recover skills they had lost to the disease.

“We have come a long way, but progress cannot be made without the ongoing close collaboration of clinicians and scientists, and the support of patients, families, and friends,” says Professor Marie Hélène Saint-Hilaire, the center’s director.

To learn how you can help, please contact the BUSM Development team.

Learn more about BUSM’s PD research.