The Parkinson’s Plan Book: Prevention, The Parkinson’s 25, and Pursuit of a Cure

Early in their new book, The Parkinson’s Plan: A New Path to Prevention and Treatment, Dr. Ray Dorsey and Dr. Michael Okun write, “We have failed enough, and we have seen enough. Most Parkinson’s is preventable, and it must end.” 

This direct, powerful, and uncompromising assertion captures the spirit of the book, and this spirit is also present in the recent interview Polly Dawkins, Executive Director of the Davis Phinney Foundation, recently had about the book with Dr. Dorsey and Dr. Okun. 

In that interview, Dr. Dorsey said, “Our goal for this book is for Parkinson’s Disease to die away: in the next ten years that the rise of Parkinson’s Disease stops, and that means after ten years, the fall of Parkinson’s begins.” Listen to the rest of the interview below.

Scaling Up the Fight Against Parkinson’s 

In the conversation, Dr. Dorsey and Dr. Okun talked about their motivation for writing the new book, citing the need to make the conversation around Parkinson’s much bigger. 

• The authors’ previous book, Ending Parkinson’s Disease, co-written with Dr. Bastiaan Bloem and Todd Sherer, shocked many readers by predicting 12.9 million cases of Parkinson’s worldwide by 2040, but, as Dr. Okun states in the discussion, we’re already at 11.8 million in 2025, illustrating the need to accelerate research and increase support to keep up
• The authors propose a 0–10–100 paradigm by 2035: Zero percent growth in Parkinson’s, 10 times more research funding including 10 times more set aside for prevention, and 100% of people worldwide who need it able to access levodopa, the gold-standard Parkinson’s treatment
• The two doctors said it’s on them, and on all of us in the Parkinson’s community, to help the world understand why more money is needed for Parkinson’s now. “The number of new cases of Parkinson’s disease is now rising faster than the number of new cases of HIV. But HIV receives ten times as much federal funding,” Dr. Dorsey said 

The Parkinson’s Plan underscores the need for the world to understand the scope of Parkinson’s the way that the large, creative, and persistent communities around HIV and many types of cancer have compelled greater awareness for those conditions. “Our real, intentional, deliberate desire is to engage experts around the world to think about how this turns into a community disease,” Dr. Okun said.  

Curbing Parkinson’s Growth by Curbing Pollution 

“It wasn’t until the advent of pesticides, industrial chemicals, and air pollution that we largely saw Parkinson’s disease,” Dr. Dorsey said. The Parkinson’s Plan argues bending the curve on Parkinson’s will require stricter environmental regulations, including banning pesticides whose use correlates with increased Parkinson’s rates. A ban on one such chemical, known as TCE, is set to take effect; people with Parkinson’s have mobilized to prevent the ban from being overturned. 

“I know the suffering that Parkinson’s disease takes. I know the long journey that is ahead for them, for their family, for their caregivers. And I think almost all of it is unnecessary. Bad things happen to people, but preventable bad things we should prevent,” Dr. Dorsey said. 

“It’s beyond what we should consider acceptable,” said Dr. Okun. 

The question of what to do about it led to the authors’ including the “Parkinson’s 25,” a list of practical actions people can take individually to reduce their risk. The first item on the list: wash your fruits and vegetables, which are a main source of pesticide exposure. 

 “Why are we using it? Why can’t we get rid of it? In California, you can’t use certain toxic pesticides and schools must notify parents in writing before they use pesticides on their playgrounds. We should do the same thing (across the country) for our schools. We should do the same thing for our golf courses,” Dr. Dorsey said. 

“These are achievable goals. We’ve got to put them out there and go for them.” Dr. Okun added.  

LEARN MORE AND PRE-ORDER ‘THE PARKINSON’S PLAN’ 

You can learn more and pre-order the book at PDPlan.org. Your local bookseller and many online stores are also options for preorder. The book is scheduled for release on August 19, 2025.

The PDPlan.org site is also worth a visit, as it features, blog content from the authors as well as recent videos and the full foreword to the book, written by US Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida) and former US Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Virginia). 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

PDPlan.org 
Ending Parkinson’s Disease: A Prescription for Action, the 2020 book authored by Drs. Dorsey and Okun and two others 
The Long Road to Hope: Ending Parkinson’s Disease, a documentary film (viewable for free) based on Ending Parkinson’s Disease from the same team 
Industrial Chemicals, Pesticides, and Parkinson’s 
[Webinar] Live Well Today: Emerging Therapies 2025 with Dr. Soania Mathur and Dr. Michael Okun