The Female Paradox of Parkinson Disease

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has issued a $250,000 Engagement Award to the Parkinson Foundation to support a multidisciplinary team's effort to "address long-standing gender disparities in Parkinson’s research and care." Allison Willis, MD, MS, co-lead of the Women and PD Talk initiative, has labeled these disparities as "the female paradox of Parkinson disease."

Previous research has shown that women have a lower risk than men for developing Parkinson disease (PD). However, after a female patient receives a diagnosis of PD, "they tend to do worse and have more disability." Women and PD TALK is focusing on large population sampling to discover what factors contribute to the high variability seen in symptom presentation and treatment experiences for female patients with PD.

For more videos, visit our partners at The Doctor's Channel.