Ms Nassaris said the foundation provided $300,000 for the research study, which she told the ABC, “looked at both people living with Parkinson’s and then a control group of people living without Parkinson’s so we could create a scan database’. The researchers believe there is a connection with low levels of dopamine in the brain to use this knowledge in the data collection study. “We’ve been injecting people with fluorinated dopamine (F-DOPA) which brings up dopamine in the brain and this is going to become a tool in the toolbox of diagnosis and treatment,” Ms Nassari said. “In the future, once we create this bio-bank of scans, it can really be used as an effective way to treat Parkinson’s disease.” He said that in the coming years, researchers will be able to use the collected data to develop a greater understanding of the disease. “There was a variety of people involved in the trial,” Ms Nasaris said. “Having this biobank of scans will be useful for clinicians. “This biobank of data can diagnose people quickly, get treatment sooner and live better.” IN Australia, more than 100,000 people are now living with Parkinson’s disease, which affects movement, learning and behaviour. Up to 32 Australians a day are diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s patient Frank Jensen said he hopes the project will help those living with the disease. “If it can help future generations avoid Parkinson’s or live a little with Parkinson’s, then that’s fantastic,” Mr Jensen said. “I hope to have some of the benefits before my life is over.”
