ArticleClinical parkinsonism & related disorders2026
Access to Parkinson's disease treatments in the Middle East: a multi-national survey of availability, affordability, and utilization patterns.
Article in Clinical parkinsonism & related disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is an increasing public health challenge in the Middle East, yet regional data on access to therapies and services remain limited. Understanding the gaps in PD treatment availability, affordability, and prescription frequency is necessary for improving care delivery and regional policy development. Objectives: Evaluating the availability, affordability, and utilization of disease-related pharmacological treatments, surgical, device-assisted therapies, and rehabilitative services across multiple Middle Eastern countries. Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey was distributed to physicians with expertise in movement disorders across participating countries in the Middle East. The survey assessed three domains of availability, cost, and utilization of key medications, surgical interventions, and specialized PD services. Results: Thirty-one respondents from nine Middle Eastern countries, including 44% movement-disorder specialists. Medication availability was 65.4%, affordability 68.6%, and prescription 52% across the included countries. Levodopa was nearly universally available (98%), whereas newer dopamine agonists, MAO-B inhibitors, and COMT inhibitors were available inconsistently. Advanced therapies demonstrated disparities; botulinum toxin and deep-brain stimulation were available in high-income countries but not frequently used, while infusion therapies were mostly unavailable. Telemedicine uptake was moderate; genetic testing was cost-restricted. Although general rehabilitation was available, PD-specific services were limited. Affordability constrained equitable care. Qatar had the highest reported prescription frequency of PD medications among the countries. Conclusions: The survey highlights disparities in access to essential PD therapies across the Middle East. Variable availability, costs, and limited specialized services prevent optimal care, urging the need for stronger regional policies, improved insurance coverage, and expanded clinical training to improve equity in PD management.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.