Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support research on the link between Parkinson’s and (a) anxiety and (b) depression; and if he will review NICE guidelines for people with Parkinson's who have anxiety and depression.

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Parkinson’s disease and mental health. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Information on individual projects funded by the NIHR can be found at the following link:

https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/

NIHR support for research into Parkinson’s was nearly £15 million since 2015. This includes studies looking specifically at Parkinson’s and mental health such as the ‘Antidepressants Trial in Parkinson’s Disease (ADepT-PD)’ and the ‘Personalised Care for People with Parkinson’s Disease: PD Care’ study. NIHR infrastructure has supported 169 studies into Parkinson’s Disease since 2015.