People with Parkinson's disease, along with those working in this field, want to see more research into treatments to help with balance problems and falls, a new study has found.

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological disease, the symptoms of which include tremors, stiffness and slow movement. An estimated six to seven thousand people in Ireland are affected and there is no cure.

UK researchers questioned 1,000 people including patients with the disease, healthcare professionals working in this area and carers.

While acknowledging that the main aim is to someday discover a cure for the disease, the researchers wanted to determine the top research priorities when it came to managing the disease on a daily basis.

Ninety-four unique ideas were initially drawn up and these were eventually whittled down to 10.

The top research priority was found to be treatments that could help reduce falls and problems with balance in people with Parkinson's. This was followed by approaches to help reduce stress and anxiety.

Other priorities in the top 10 included:
-Treatments to help reduce dyskinesias - involuntary movements that are a side-effect of some medications
-Treatments for dementia in people with Parkinson's
-Improving the quality of sleep in people with the disease
-Improving dexterity so that people with Parkinson's can do things like buttoning up and using phones and computers.

"Ensuring that research is effective in addressing the needs of patients and the clinicians treating them is critically important. The research agenda has been accused of being overly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry and of not addressing the questions about treatments that are of greatest importance to patients, their carers and clinicians," commented lead researcher, Dr Katherine Deane, of the University of East Anglia.

She added that these priorities ‘identify crucial gaps in the existing evidence to address everyday practicalities in the management of the complexities of Parkinson's'.

Details of this study are published in the journal, BMJ Open.