For Parkinson’s Patients, ‘Valley of Death’ Separates Science From Cures

I first heard about the problem known as the “valley of death” from what might seem like an unlikely source: the actor and philanthropist Michael J. Fox. The valley of death is the gap that sometimes exists between the world of pure science and the world of creating new treatments for a variety of diseases. Fox said patients inhabit the middle ground and are often overlooked in the search for treatments.

I interviewed Fox for a 2009 PBS Frontline documentary on Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder that Fox battles. Parkinson’s disease is a subject that is close to me, as I was diagnosed with it in 2004. Two other members of my family have also been affected. As both a reporter and a patient, I was intrigued when I heard Fox describing the valley of death and the impediments to helping people with Parkinson’s disease.

The story that I reported for Thursday’s NewsHour explores this topic in more detail and offers some examples of collaborative efforts to cross that divide. Awareness about this issue is growing. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, has voiced strong interest in narrowing the gap between what goes on in the lab and what patients need.

Bridging the valley of death will not bring about instant cures. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis are hugely complicated, and it would be too simplistic to point the finger at academic scientists or large pharmaceutical companies. Recognizing this complexity is important for both patients and the news media, and we must do the best we can to assess and examine all obstacles that remain in the path to finding new treatments.

Special correspondent Dave Iverson has been looking into the search for effective treatments for Parkinson’s disease. His report for the NewsHour’s health unit — a partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — airs Thursday on the NewsHour.