Some Parkinson's patients have obsessive-compulsive disorder traits. As a result, their obsessions may take the form of a greater interest, awareness and knowledge of their disorder. Shetty says that working with such patients provided her with a good chance to learn what those patients were going through. Parkinson's disease is a chronic nervous disorder marked by tremors and rigid muscles. The duration of the disease is indefinite.
Recovery is extremely rare.
Shetty searched through scientific articles on 98 studies of Parkinson's disease and found that the use of placebos in drug trials produced a response in 70 percent of patients. To test her results, Shetty examined the placebo response in patients participating in a 5-year study of Parkinson's disease. She found that 140 of the 198 people in the study, or 71 percent, showed either improved or worsened symptoms after receiving placebos. Her finding that such a significant number of people show symptom changes after taking a placebo, which is an inactive substance, will allow researchers worldwide to clarify their methodology for conducting drug-trial studies on Parkinson's disease. F or her effort, Shetty received the G. Milton Shy Award from the American Academy of Neurology on April 15 at the group's annual meeting in Boston.