The Mega Trial
- Guest Writer
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
How do you run clinical trials that maximise the efficiency for patients, clinicians and drugs developers? That's the challenge being addressed by the world's largest ever clinical trial of Parkinson's medications. To discuss this new, and potentially extremely effective, way of running multiple trials simultaneously, the Movers & Shakers are joined at the pub by some of the core team from the project, who answer their questions and consider whether this represents the future of clinical trials.
Each week, Rory Cellan-Jones guides us between the laughs and moans in the pub. To read Rory's summary of this week's episode, click here.
Guest Biographies
Professor Camille Carroll
is a professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the Translational and Clinical Research Institute at Newcastle, and Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth. Her research is focused on disease modification and the use of digital health technologies for monitoring and personalised care in Parkinson’s. She acts as principal and UK lead investigator for commercial interventional trials in Parkinson's disease, and is a member/chair of several trial steering and data monitoring committees. With Prof. Tom Foltynie (UCL), Professor Carroll co-leads the Edmond J Safra ACT-PD initiative, a multi-professional consortium developing a multi-arm, multi-stage trial platform for disease-modifying interventions in Parkinson’s, which will transform the disease-modifying trial landscape in the UK.
Professor Tom Foltynie
is a Professor of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences at University College London. Prof Foltynie is chief investigator for a series of trials of Exenatide- a potential neurorestorative treatment for PD, as well as the lead clinician at UCL for a multicentre trial of fetal dopaminergic cell transplantation for PD, and 2 trials of Deep Brain stimulation as a treatment for the cognitive problems associated with advanced PD/Dementia with Lewy bodies. He has also led a trial of Deep Brain Stimulation for the treatment of patients with severe Tourette syndrome.
