Clinical Trials and Research

The Movement Disorder Society of Australia Clinical Research and Trials Group (MDSACRTG) was established in 2001 as part of the Movement Disorder Society of Australia (MDSA).

It is comprised of neurologists and neuroscientists from more than 20 hospitals or research institutes in Australia and New Zealand that have a research interest in movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and dystonia. The majority of members are clinicians who have experience in clinical and therapeutic trials.

The MDSACRTG subcommittee is responsible for administration and coordination of the MDSACRTG. Subcommittee members are elected from and by members of the MDSA for three years, with a representative chosen for each Australian state and New Zealand. The current chair of the MDSACRTG subcommittee (2007-2010) is Dr Andrew J Hughes, Department of Neurology at the Austin Hospital, in Melbourne.

MDSACRTG aims to:

• To facilitate communication between researchers interested in performing collaborative therapeutic (or human experimental) trials in Parkinson’s disease/ movement disorders
• facilitate investigator-driven multi-centre therapeutic trials
• promote Australian participation in pharmaceutical industry-funded multi-centre Phase II and III studies.