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Parkinson's: The Great Drug Experiment

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Parkinson’s disease affects around 13 million people worldwide. It used to be considered an old persons’ disease, but is being diagnosed in increasing numbers of people in their 40s and younger. Once diagnosed with Parkinson’s, people are told they can expect to be kept in reasonable shape with the current treatment for five to ten years. It is highly variable and some will stay relatively stable for years after that, but many people are already struggling.

This documentary follows a group of Parkinson’s patients as they test MitoQ, a promising new drug meant to slow the progression of the disease. Antipodean Pharmaceuticals Ltd. are behind the making and marketing of the drug, with millions of investment dollars out of New Zealand and the United States. According to CEO Ken Taylor “It’s a high risk game but the returns are also very high”. Neurologist Barry Snow, the head of the clinical side of the drug trial, is cautiously optimistic: “If this works it will be a major discovery. Will it work? Well we don’t know, but if it does it will be the first drug that slows the progression of Parkinson’s disease”.

As the months go by the five trialists have quite different experiences as they follow the daily routine of taking the MitoQ. Carefully monitored on a regular basis using a standard international system of physical and mental exercises, their progress is meticulously recorded. If the drug is working, those taking it should show much less deterioration over the twelve months than those on the placebo. Twelve months of accumulated test results are carefully checked and sorted before undergoing a whole series of statistical analyses to see if it makes a difference. That process takes another three or four months, and in the meantime no-one gets to know, not the patients nor the clinicians nor the drug developers. 

Featuring leading neurologists and professors, Parkinson’s: The Great Drug Experiment explains the science and risks behind this crucial trial, tracing the volunteers’ varied experiences over the period of a year.

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