Throughout his TV and movie career, and most recently in his AppleTV documentary, Still, Michael J. Fox and his fighting spirit have been an inspiration for people with Parkinson’s disease. Through his Michael J. Fox Foundation, he’s also made scientific breakthroughs in the disease possible, raising $1 billion to date for research programs, with the goal of eliminating the disease, which has a higher prevalence in older adults, in our lifetime.
Now, MJFF is teaming up with healthcare data company H1 to improve clinical trial access for patients with Parkinson’s from marginalized communities.
MJFF will use H1’s AI-based platform, Trial Landscape, to streamline its search for physicians actively treating Parkinson’s disease patients and collect information on patient populations, including underrepresented populations, and treatment approaches to support these patients.
One million people in the U.S. have Parkinson’s disease, a number that’s expected to rise to 1.2 billion by 2030. A primary risk factor for Parkinson’s is age, with incidence increasing in people 65 and older. Only 4% of people are diagnosed with the disease before age 50, research shows.
This technology partnership between MJFF and H1 could make a real difference in treating patients with Parkinson’s in senior living facilities and in marginalized communities, in particular.
“Our efforts toward better treatments and cures for Parkinson’s disease are built on partnerships,” Maggie McGuire Kuhl, vice president of research engagement at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, told MobiHealthNews. “People with disease or risk factors, their loved ones, teams of scientists, and care providers all play a role in developing and testing new strategies to prevent progression and ease symptoms. We engaged with H1 to help us expand our network of partners and thereby speed up breakthroughs.”
AI can be an effective tool in treating Parkinson’s. Last month, scientists from the University of New South Wales Sydney, in collaboration with researchers from Boston University, developed a new AI tool which can predict the probability of Parkinson’s disease with up to 96% accuracy and up to 15 years before a clinical diagnosis, based on an analysis of chemicals in the blood.
