August 25, 2007 by mike.

New Parkinson’s Disease Online Resource Now Available
From: Medical News Today
Aug 2, 2007

Consumers searching for information on Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological condition that affects more than 1.5 million Americans, now have a new online destination. The Parkinson’s Disease Blog Network (http://www.parkinsonsblognetwork.com) is the first site to centralize these individual perspectives, helping consumers to quickly identify the most relevant and useful information for any given situation. Oversight by an advisory board of patients and medical experts ensures content accuracy.

“The Parkinson’s community is highly motivated, frequently turning to the Internet as an outlet for support and information once they or a loved one have been diagnosed,” said Dr. Neal Hermanowicz, a member of the Parkinson’s Disease Blog Network advisory board and professor in the department of neurology and director of the Movement Disorders Program at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine. “The Parkinson’s Disease Blog Network provides a reliable, centralized online source for those pressed for time or limited by access or ability.”

The Parkinson’s Disease Blog Network was developed and is maintained by Incendia Health Studios, an inVentiv Health company. It has been designed to serve as a real-time, virtual Parkinson’s disease discussion and community forum, allowing users to exchange information and thoughts on topics ranging from symptoms to diet and treatment. All blogs registered on the network are listed with a brief descriptor and assigned to one of three categories: resource, medical or personal. Each includes a space for user comments, a five-point rating scale and also tracks the number of “views”. This allows the blogs found to be the most useful to be most prominently featured.

Kate Kelsall, author of the site’s top-rated blog, Shake, Rattle and Roll, explains, “Many of us with Parkinson’s disease feel isolated and lonely. Even after diagnosis, we are scared of what lies ahead. Connecting online with others who have the same disease can be reassuring. By sharing hopes and providing support for each other, we find commonality and realize we are not alone.”

Support for the development of the Parkinson’s Disease Blog Network was provided by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International. To learn more or register your blog, visit http://www.parkinsonsblognetwork.com.

About Incendia Health Studios

Incendia Health Studios, is the first and only ‘purpose-driven’ media company in the field of chronic disease education. The company develops and distributes unbranded disease-education content targeting the millions of people who use the Internet and other digital technologies to seek and share information on chronic diseases. Incendia Health Studios is located at 8961 Research Drive, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92618. For additional information, visit http://www.IncendiaHealth.com

About inVentiv Health

inVentiv Health (NASDAQ: VTIV) is the leading provider of commercialization and complementary services to the global pharmaceutical, life sciences and biotechnology industries. inVentiv delivers its customized clinical, sales, marketing and communications solutions through its three core business segments: inVentiv Clinical, inVentiv Communications and inVentiv Commercial. inVentiv Health currently works with over 200 unique pharmaceutical, biotech and life sciences clients, including all top 20 global pharmaceutical companies.

http://www.inventivhealth.com
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August 25, 2007 by mike.

Merck KGaA and its development partner, Newron, say that a late-stage study of their experimental therapy for Parkinson’s failed to demonstrate any significant effect. But the two developers refuse to walk away from safinamide. Researchers are planning to mount new trials with lower doses to find the right formula.

“The primary endpoint, time to intervention, did not reach statistical significance when data from both safinamide dose groups were pooled,” the companies said, after reviewing 18 months of combined data from patients taking the 50-100 mg and 120-200 mg doses. But researchers said that a lack of response among patients taking the highest dose could have skewed the data. Adding safinamide to dopamine agonist therapy at 50-100 mg daily could delay the time to therapeutic adjustment.

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