A TV story announcing a new trial of SYMBYX's PDCare Laser by Flinders University played on January 11 and 12 across Channel 7's Evening News as well as the Sunrise Morning Breakfast Program. The TV segment features Margaret Jarret, a participant with Parkinson's in a previous South Australian based photobiomodulation trial, as well as the new trial's leader, Olivia Nassaris, CEO of The Hospital Research Foundation Group. The trials' Principal Investigator, Dr Joyce Ramos of Flinders University, and SYMBYX CEO, Wayne Markman, also spoke.
The script of the TV segment is as follows:
Introduction by newsreader: It's been described as light at the end of the tunnel for people with Parkinson's disease. An Adelaide trial using laser lights to help patients regain their lives has been so successful it's about to be expanded. “
Kimberley Pratt (Channel 7 TV Reporter): “It may look like a festive hat," (I'm starting a new fashion trend, says MJ!), "But this infrared treatment is actually treating Margaret Jarret’s (MJ) Parkinsons”
MJ: “I feel that when I use my helmet and my hand held laser… Magic is happening in there.
Reporter: “It's believed that laser lights boost the production of dopamine in the brain and it's a lack of that chemical that causes the degenerative conditions (associated with PD). This Salisbury East (Adelaide) grandmother says the treatment immediately improved her mobility and helped her regain her sense of smell”
MJ:”I thought it was a miracle”
Reporter: “The 75 year old was part of a previous light therapy trial and now Flinders University (in South Australia) is conducting another using SYMBYX equipment (the PDCare Laser), funded by The Hospital Research Foundation Group and a generous donor.”
Wayne Markman (SYMBYX CEO): “The technology is changing the way Parkinson's patients are being treated.”
Reporter: “This 6 month (Flinders University) trial will include 36 participants divided into 3 groups. Some will use the equipment only, others will combine it with exercise, and the third group will be given fake equipment to monitor for placebo effects.”
Dr Joyce Ramos (Flinders University): “The first (long-term, double-blinded) study with a control group.”
Olivia Nassaris (Hospital Research Foundation): “What we hope to achieve with this trial is to make the (SYMBYX Light therapy) equipment more accessible to people.”
Reporter: “Margaret has now been using light therapy for 3 years. She says just 30 minutes of treatment three times a week has stopped her degeneration and changed her life for the better”
MJ: “And while I'm not perfect, nobody is, I'm quite happy with how I'm managing after 10 years.”
Reporter: “Lasers aside there's no dimming Margaret’s spirit either. Kimberly Pratt 7 news.“
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