Renowned researcher interviewed by CheckRare about largest Parkinson’s study ever attempted.

Dr. Steven Cummings highlights role of PCM Trials certified mobile research nurses in making possible large-scale home-based clinical trial.

Imagine wanting to conduct a large clinical trial involving complicated protocols that typically would be done only at a clinical site. Further imagine that most of the patients you’d need to enroll would be elderly and have mobility challenges making travel to a site difficult, if not impossible.

It might seem like such a study would be impossible given those constraints but, in fact, it’s underway. The TOPAZ study is being conducted to determine whether a drug used to treat osteoporosis will reduce bone fractures in Parkinson’s disease patients. The home-based clinical trial is the largest of its kind for Parkinson’s patients and is being managed by a team of researchers including the Executive Director of the San Francisco Coordinating Center, Dr. Steven Cummings, an internationally recognized expert on the epidemiology of osteoporosis, women’s health, and aging.

In an interview with CheckRare, a digital learning platform focused on rare diseases, Dr. Cummings discusses how PCM Trials certified mobile research nurses are making the TOPAZ study possible. He shares details about the specific protocols carried out by the nurses from renal function tests to oral exams to infusions of the IV study drug and placebos. You can download a case study on the TOPAZ trial here. PCM Trials thanks CheckRare for making the interview available.