Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. It’s progressive and currently, there is no cure. People with Parkinson’s don’t have enough of the chemical dopamine because some of the nerve cells that make it have died. Dopamine allows the brain to coordinate movement and the 3 most commonly recognised symptoms – tremor, slowness of movement and muscle stiffness – are all associated with movement. But there are more than 40 symptoms of the condition including non-motor symptoms like pain, anxiety and sleep issues. Around 145,000 people live with Parkinson’s in the UK. 

Parkinson’s UK is the largest European charitable funder of Parkinson’s research. Its ultimate ambition is to find a cure and improve life for everyone affected by Parkinson’s.

Affiliate charities

Our Future Health is joining with many of the UK’s leading health research charities who are providing valuable support and expertise to help develop Our Future Health. They will make a big impact in allowing us to ultimately change the way we prevent, detect and treat diseases.

Andrew Roddam, CEO of Our Future Health, said: “It is exciting to be working with Parkinson’s UK at this important stage in our journey. We look forward to working with the charity to ensure Our Future Health does the best it possibly can to help everyone with Parkinson’s and ultimately to help find a cure.”

Professor David Dexter, Associate Director of Research, said: “There’s still so much that we do not know about the causes and progression of Parkinson’s. What we do know however, is that with age a key factor and an ageing population, prevalence is only going to rise which is why it’s vital that we accelerate our understanding and research.

“By partnering with Our Future Health, we’re hoping to be able to advance work that will allow us to identify early markers and risk factors for the condition. If we can do that, and start people on novel therapies earlier in the condition’s development, we’ll maximise the chances of slowing or stopping Parkinson’s in its tracks.”

Learn more

Read more about our partnerships.