Taking Part

Circle cropped photo of an older man with grey hair looking through binoculars. A tree trunk and trees are in the background.

We have recruited our target number of 600 participants for the CHIEF-PD trial, so recruitment has now closed.

How the trial works

  • Participants were invited to the nearest participating hospital for an appointment lasting 2-3 hours.
  • During this appointment, they were asked a range of questions and completed some physical assessments with the research team (often a nurse or other healthcare professional), such as walking and sitting and standing, their blood pressure taken.
  • At the end of the visit we asked participants to wear a transdermal patch each day for 12 months. This patch will contain either a drug called rivastigmine, or placebo (no drug). Neither the participants nor the research team know which type of patch is allocated.
  • At home, participants are asked to record in a trial diary the dose they are taking each day, and if they have experienced a fall. We telephone participants once a month to check how they are getting on and ask about any falls they have had that month. Every few months we will also ask them to fill in a short questionnaire about their healthcare use.
  • After 12 months, participants will be invited in for a second visit to the hospital and have another round of assessments.

If you have any questions, please email chief-pd@bristol.ac.uk and a research team member will get back to you.