Search, selection and recruitment of specialist for medical procedures for a phase 1b clinical trial, in patients with Parkinson’s Disease.
The Challenge/Opportunity
To provide an appropriately trained and qualified individual or individuals to perform lumbar puncture procedure in order to obtain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples and to assess patient volunteers on the MDS-UPDRS III scale.
The Science Behind was approached by a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) to find specialist neurology personnel to administer lumbar punctures to obtain corticospinal fluid (CSF) samples and someone who was certified to administer Part 3 of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS).
The client provided us with details of the schedule of tasks required for this study, the planned start dates and the number of volunteers involved.
About Parkinson’s Disease
A long-term neurodegenerative disease, Parkinson’s Disease (Parkinson’s or PD) is predominantly a movement disorder (affecting the body’s motor systems) but also affects cognitive and behavioural function such a memory and mood. It is the second most common and fastest growing progressive neurological condition in the world and there are a number of conditions that share characteristics of Parkinson’s which are often also categorised as PD.
About the Study
This particular study, a phase 1b, multicenter, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, was investigating the potential for a novel treatment for idiopathic and a hereditary form of Parkinson’s.
Our Approach/Solution
Our first task was to reach out to our network of neuroscience researchers in the locale of the trial site. Following discussions with various colleagues, we were able to ascertain that candidates with both of these requirements (certified administrator of Part 3 UPDRS and medically qualified to perform a lumbar puncture) and availability in their schedules to accommodate this study were hard to find. However, as a result of recommendations of possible candidates from our network of researchers, we were able to identify a medically trained, neurology research fellow who had considerable experience in administering lumbar punctures and a variety of assessments for movement disorders.
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