National Parkinson Foundation Launches Free App for People Living with Parkinson's Disease

—Parkinson's Central Provides Quick Access to Trusted Information—

MIAMI, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) launched today Parkinson's Central, a free app specifically created for people living with Parkinson's disease and their families. This is the only comprehensive app for people living with Parkinson's.

The Parkinson's Central app is now available on iPhone and Android smartphones.

Research has shown that the way that patients learn about Parkinson's is critical to their quality of life with the disease and also that people rarely can process or remember all the information given to them when they see their doctors.

"NPF is dedicated to developing new concepts and technologies that engage people in their own care," said Joyce Oberdorf, NPF's President and CEO. "Parkinson's Central is a simple yet powerful tool that we believe will positively impact the health of people with Parkinson's, wherever they live."

NPF's Parkinson's Central app features:

• How to get the most out of your doctor visits
• Ins and outs of diagnosis and medication management
• Advice on how to live well with the disease
• Information on insurance and financial matters
• Tailored content for caregivers
• "Near Me" tool to find local resources according to zip code

"Easy to use and easy to read, Parkinson's Central is a veritable encyclopedia of Parkinson's issues, not only regarding the treatment of the disease, but as a guidebook for positive and high-quality living with Parkinson's," said James Morgan, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease five years ago. "The 'Near Me' feature is a powerful tool to connect people with valuable resources in the Parkinson's community."

Parkinson's Central was developed as part of NPF's overall vision to use innovation and technology to meet an ever-increasing demand for online health information and to help people with Parkinson's now. This is the second free app that NPF has released; the Parkinson's Toolkit, which launched in 2011, is an app designed for health care professionals.

The Parkinson's Central app is free, and is available in the iTunes App Store and in the Android Market.  Detailed information on the app is available at www.parkinson.org/parkinsonscentral.

Parkinson's Central was made possible by the support of thousands of generous individual donors and grants from Teva CNS and AbbVie. 

About Parkinson's Disease
Affecting an estimated one million Americans and four to six million worldwide, Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression) as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson's, and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.

About the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF)
Founded in 1957, the National Parkinson Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of care for people with Parkinson's disease through research, education and outreach. NPF has funded more than $172 million in care, research and support services. For more information about NPF, visit www.parkinson.org, or call the NPF Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).

Media Contact:
Leilani Pearl
[email protected] 
305-243-7951

SOURCE National Parkinson Foundation