{"id":483472,"date":"2026-02-22T07:57:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T07:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/483472\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T07:57:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T07:57:32","slug":"a-ct-man-with-a-life-altering-disease-is-first-in-clinical-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/483472\/","title":{"rendered":"A CT man with a life-altering disease is first in clinical trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Connecticut resident was diagnosed with a life-altering disease almost a year ago and while waiting to be seen at a UConn Health clinic,<\/a> his wife spotted a flyer about a study that\u2019s seeking a treatment for his condition.<\/p>\n

Bill, who is in his 50\u2019s, became the first person to enter the Parkinson\u2019s disease trial.<\/p>\n

Bill, who asked that his last name not be used for privacy reasons, was diagnosed last May at UConn Health\u2019s Brain and Spine Institute<\/a> and it was there his wife saw a notice for a study<\/a> and he decided to be part of the clinical trial.<\/p>\n

Bill said he has been a part of the study for about a month now and began taking the pill every day two weeks ago. He hasn\u2019t felt any impact from the medication two weeks in, he said. He purposely has not been told whether he was given the actual medication or the placebo.<\/p>\n

The trial has a goal of finding a medication that can slow down or stop the disease, according to Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues,<\/a> an associate professor of neurology at UConn Health.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues with a patient. Rodrigues has been at\u00a0UConn Health since 2015, and he founded the Parkinson’s Disease Clinic at UConn. (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health Photo)<\/p>\n

The UConn School of Medicine<\/a> is in the beginning stages of recruiting for the clinical trial t<\/a>hat will test a medication\u2019s impact on reducing inflammation to treat Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

The School of Medicine began recruiting for the clinical trial last month. The trial is sponsored by New Haven-based pharmaceutical company Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.<\/a><\/p>\n

Rodrigues, who has been at UConn Health since 2015, and founded the Parkinson\u2019s Disease Clinic at UConn<\/a> that sees more than 300 patients annually, said the trial is for the experimental new medication, BHV-8000<\/a>. The hope is the trial will show the once-a-day tablet will slow disease progression for those who have early-stage Parkinson\u2019s. The trial will have either a daily dosage of 10MG of BHV-8000, 20MG of BHV-8000 or a placebo for 48 weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Biohaven is) amazing and they struck gold when they found a very unique medication for migraines, called Nurtec<\/a>,\u201d Rodrigues said. \u201cThey were able to join forces with Pfizer<\/a>, and now they\u2019re developing even more products.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodrigues said Biohaven is thinking about Parkinson\u2019s in a novel way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey think that there is some inflammation happening in the brain, that really start a cascade of events,\u201d Rodrigues said. \u201cWe\u2019re not even sure where this inflammation is coming from. But they are trying to find a way to stop some inflammation markers, some messengers of inflammation. And that way, halt the progression of the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re super excited because of those words,\u201d he added. \u201cSlow down disease progression, hold progression, maybe even who knows \u2014 a cure. Besides the excitement, if we put the excitement to the side like, this all has to be proven. And the only way we can prove this, it\u2019s with a rigorous clinical trial. I don\u2019t want to overhype this because I\u2019m excited and I\u2019m hopeful that this is going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Millions face the disease<\/p>\n

Parkinson\u2019s disease is a disorder of the nervous system and movement that worsens over time. The nervous system is a \u201cnetwork of nerve cells that controls many parts of the body, including movement,\u201d according to an overview of Parkinson\u2019s by the Mayo Clinic.<\/a><\/p>\n

Parkinson\u2019s affects more than 10 million people around the world<\/a>, 1.1 million in the United States, and is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world and there is currently no cure, according to the Parkinson\u2019s Foundation.<\/a><\/p>\n

The \u201cincidence of Parkinson\u2019s disease increases with age, but an estimated 4% of people with PD are diagnosed before age 50,\u201d according to the Parkinson\u2019s Foundation.<\/p>\n

The profile of public attention on the disease increase in recent years in part due to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.<\/a> The actor was diagnosed with the disease when he was 29.<\/a><\/p>\n

The design of the trial is that of a double-blind placebo-controlled study. It\u2019s designed to make sure that the patients\u2019 emotions, doctors\u2019 emotions and doctor\u2019s impression don\u2019t compromise the nature of the medication.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues with a patient. Rodrigues has been at\u00a0UConn Health since 2015, and he founded the Parkinson’s Disease Clinic at UConn. (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health Photo)<\/p>\n

Rodrigues said the trial is seeking people between the ages of 40 and 85 who have been diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s within the last two years. Also, they are looking for people who are not taking medication for their condition. As of Sunday, the trial had three participants, two from Connecticut and one from Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Those who are diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s by their neurologist and meet the criteria will be considered for the trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a patient is interested, we book them a screening visit,\u201d Rodrigues said. \u201cOn the screening visit, we\u2019re going to check if their diagnosis of Parkinson\u2019s disease is correct. We\u2019re going to request an MRI of the brain to make sure that the brain is normal. And we\u2019re going to order a brain scan that helps with the diagnosis of Parkinson\u2019s disease called a DATscan, which stands for dopamine transporter scan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodrigues warned that there is a chance that the trial is not going to work and the medication will not do anything but said he is excited to see if it does.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really want to know, does the medication actually work independently of what \u2026 the patient feels,\u201d Rodrigues said. \u201cIt has to be a true significant change to their feelings. That\u2019s what drives the excitement. It\u2019s the fact that it\u2019s a new way of thinking about Parkinson\u2019s disease is a new mechanism. It works by blocking the proteins (TYK2\/JAK1) responsible for transmitting the inflammation.\u201d<\/p>\n

UConn Health has been collaborating with the American Parkinson\u2019s Disease Association in their recruitment efforts in the state. dopamine transporter scan<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to steal anyone\u2019s patients. We don\u2019t want to change their management. We just want to be able to offer the ability to participate in the trial. The patients will continue following with their regular neurologists, the patients will continue to take their regular medications, everything is decided by their regular doctors,\u201d Rodrigues said.<\/p>\n

In all, the trial is seeking 500 to 600 patients and is expected to last about two years, but the trial is also designed to be extended.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s planned to have what we call an open label extension. Even after the first year of treatment, in the first year of follow-up, patients should be able to be enrolled on what is typically called an open label extension. An open label extension is when everybody that participated in the trial will actually get the real medication,\u201d Rodrigues said. \u201cEven if you\u2019re on the placebo group, and you were taking, let\u2019s say, sugar pills. On the open label extension, patients will be receiving the actual medication. And that all depends on how the study progresses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It would be remarkable\u2019<\/p>\n

Rodrigues said the trial is good news and should be a sign of hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see a company investing millions of dollars on a new product and leading the charge for a new clinical trial is an exciting moment. There is definitely hope that something new is around the corner. It\u2019s definitely exciting that this trial is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodrigues said patients will keep a daily log of symptoms, food, medications and supplements during the clinical trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are kinds of things that Parkinson\u2019s disease impairs, and it can be disabling,\u201d Rodrigues said. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to know right now what the true impact of the disease is. If we are going to go to the dreamland and if we can speculate, if this stops the disease, it stops the progression and patients could live healthy forever \u2013 we are going to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodrigues said Parkinson\u2019s is one of those diseases that progresses over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what I do, no matter what patients do, they do get worse over time. Imagine now finding something that stops that progression. It would be remarkable,\u201d Rodrigues said.<\/p>\n

\u2018A\u00a0great thing they\u2019re doing for sure\u2019<\/p>\n

Bill said he\u2019s is an active person, who\u2019s involved in several sports and physical activities, including lifting weights. Rodrigues recommends that his patients to stay active and involved in activities. He said physical activities have shown benefits to Parkinson\u2019s patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still stay active. I\u2019m still doing everything I used to do. It hasn\u2019t \u2026 changed my lifestyle whatsoever,\u201d Bill said. \u201cAt this point, I just exercise and follow that regimen. I\u2019m just taking that study drug at this point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a DAT scan, an MRI and every two weeks I\u2019m getting blood drawn and a EKG,\u201d Bill said.<\/p>\n

During the trial, Bill said, the checkups will become monthly, then bi-monthly and then every three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, this drug will have some positive impacts, not for me specifically but for folks moving forward. I am definitely in the early stages. I\u2019m not sure what the impacts would be for someone in the later stages of Parkinson\u2019s,\u201d Bill said. \u201cI kind of fell into this thing. But I think it\u2019s a great thing they\u2019re doing for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill said there were no dietary restrictions given to him for being a part of the trial but he said he eats healthful foods.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope this works. You always have that hope. From what I understand, it\u2019s not just UConn that there are institutions throughout the country doing this so I have a positive outlook on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues and UConn Health are recruiting for a clinical trial with the hopes of improving outcomes for recently diagnosed Parkinson’s patients. (Courtesy of UConn Health).<\/p>\n

Rodrigues said he hasn\u2019t seen enough improvement over the last 10 years in treatment and hopes this clinical study be a big step forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want a breakthrough and that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking forward to,\u201d Rodrigues said. \u201cOver the last 10 years there have been some changes in the way that medication is delivered. Now they can be delivered in pill form.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodrigues said there are recent advancements with two brain surgeries that are able to treat and control Parkinson\u2019s disease symptoms \u201cfor some extent, but they don\u2019t stop the disease and that\u2019s the downside of these surgeries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The surgeries are for more advanced patients having trouble controlling their symptoms with medication alone. The surgeries are, a deep brain stimulation surgery and a high-intensity focused ultrasound. Rodrigues said the procedures improve tremors and other symptoms.<\/p>\n

For more information about participating in this clinical trial, email parkinsons@uchc.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Connecticut resident was diagnosed with a life-altering disease almost a year ago and while waiting to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[222740,180789,3615,6637,44186,771,20242,15861,222741,43553,15862,97,252,253,1493,222742,983,168221,22373,46601,31876,104926,3,15191,99541,10964,4198,15857,79391],"class_list":{"0":"post-483472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-american-parkinsons-disease-association","9":"tag-biohaven","10":"tag-brain","11":"tag-breakthrough","12":"tag-clinic","13":"tag-clinical-trial","14":"tag-connecticut-news","15":"tag-ct-news","16":"tag-dopamine-transporter-scan","17":"tag-farmington","18":"tag-hartford-courant","19":"tag-health","20":"tag-health-care","21":"tag-healthcare","22":"tag-hospital","23":"tag-john-dempsey","24":"tag-local-news","25":"tag-max-image-preview","26":"tag-michael-j-fox","27":"tag-migraine","28":"tag-neurodegenerative-disease","29":"tag-new-haven","30":"tag-news","31":"tag-parkinsons","32":"tag-placebo","33":"tag-recruitment","34":"tag-trail","35":"tag-uconn","36":"tag-uconn-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}