We need you
The ParkC Heterogeneity Study aims to identify subtypes of Parkinson’s in the hope that treatments and interventions can be tailored to meet the needs of individuals with Parkinson’s. We are currently looking for people with Parkinson’s to participate in our study.
We know that Parkinson’s is not a uniform condition. No two people experience Parkinson’s in quite the same way. In addition to motor symptoms that include tremor, rigidity or dyskinesia, many people experience non-motor symptoms such as difficulties with memory and reasoning, problems with sleep and mood disturbances.
Participation in the cognition study has four components:
- a questionnaire pack;
- assessments of thinking and memory;
- assessment of motor symptoms; and
- a DNA sample.
If you choose to be involved in the project, we will send you out a pack of questionnaires to be completed at home before your appointment at ParkC. The questionnaires will ask about your mood, how well you sleep, your personality and how Parkinson’s affects your daily life.
Sections 2 and 3 are conducted during your appointment at ParkC. We will first run through some verbal memory and thinking tasks. After that, we will ask you to complete some tasks on a computer (the computer has a touch screen so there is no need to be a computer whizz). We will then ask you to perform some simple movements that will enable us to assess your motor symptoms.
The entire session will take about 2.5 hours and we will take breaks as needed. As we are a longitudinal study, we will contact you in 2 years time to ask you to come back and repeat the testing session.
If you would like to be involved in research at ParkC, please contact Stephanie on 6304 3560 or email ParkC@ecu.edu.au and we will set up an appointment with you.