Palliative care for people living with Parkinson's disease
Official title: Palliative Care as a Parkinson's Disease Standard of Care
Funded at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System · NIH-11219731 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Bringing palliative care into Parkinson's care for Veterans and others with PD to help manage symptoms, plan future care, and support caregivers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | October 1, 2023 |
| Project end | September 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01HX003611-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11219731 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People living with Parkinson's disease who receive care at participating VA medical centers, especially Veterans with nonmotor symptoms or unmet caregiver support needs, are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not receive care at participating VA sites or who have very mild, well-controlled Parkinson's symptoms may not see direct benefit from this program.
What this research studies
If you take part, palliative care clinicians will work alongside your Parkinson's care team in outpatient VA clinics to address pain, depression, and other distressing symptoms while also helping with advance care planning and caregiver needs. The project uses the VA's Parkinson's hub-and-spoke network (PADRECCs and Consortium Centers) to expand outpatient palliative services across participating sites. Participants and their care partners will be followed over time to track changes in symptom burden, quality of life, and caregiver distress. The work aims to make palliative care a routine part of PD care within the VA system.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This could lead to better symptom relief, clearer advance care plans, and stronger support for caregivers of people with Parkinson's disease.
How similar studies have gone: Outpatient palliative care has improved outcomes in other serious illnesses and early work in Parkinson's suggests promise, but broad implementation in PD is still relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Aurora, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Levy, Cari Renee — VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
- Study coordinator: Levy, Cari Renee
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Improving Care for Parkinson's Disease and Lewy Body Dementias with Palliative Approaches
This project explores how specialized comfort care, called palliative care, can help people living with Parkinson's disease and Lewy Body Dementias feel better and improve their quality of life.
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Improving palliative care for patients with Parkinson's disease
This study is looking to improve the care and support for people with Parkinson's disease by adding palliative care to their regular treatment, helping with both physical and emotional challenges, and making sure caregivers get the support they need.
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Gut-brain clues in Parkinson’s disease: supplement to a large registry
A plant-wide supplement to an NIH program will enroll people with Parkinson’s, with and without GI symptoms, plus healthy controls, to study how gut function, brain signals, and sleep rhythms relate to Parkinson’s symptoms.
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Gut-brain connections in Parkinson’s disease: how the gut and environment shape symptoms
A Mayo Clinic team is studying how gut problems, environmental factors, and genetics together influence Parkinson’s disease and its GI symptoms to find biomarkers and better understanding of the disease.
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Gut-brain communication in Parkinson’s disease for better symptoms and daily life
This project enrolls people with Parkinson’s disease and healthy controls to build a big registry and study how gut function, brain signals, sleep, and circadian rhythms relate to PD symptoms.
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Gut microbiome and Parkinson's disease: how gut bugs relate to symptoms and progression
A multi-year study will look at gut bacteria and related markers in people with Parkinson’s disease to understand how the gut-brain connection may influence symptoms and progression.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.