Golnoosh Alipour Haris, Pharm.D., M.S., a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy’s department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy, was one of two recipients of a 2023 Cluff Aging Research Award. The award honors the late Leighton E. Cluff and supports scholarly work in aging with an emphasis on the social issues of aging.
Alipour Haris was recognized for her study examining the occurrence of and hospitalization and death between two common medications used for hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease: pimavanserin and quetiapine. This condition impacts 20-40% of individuals with Parkinson’s disease, highlighting the importance of understanding the outcomes related to these medications.
In the study published in the journal Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, Alipour Haris found that the risk of hospitalization was lower among people with Parkinson’s disease psychosis who were prescribed pimavanserin compared to those who were prescribed quetiapine. The study did not find a significant difference in mortality between the two groups.
Alipour Haris is mentored by Melissa Armstrong, M.D., M.Sc., an associate professor in the department of neurology and a movement disorders specialist at the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health.