Targeting the early pathological pathways in Parkinson's Disease

Research summary

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the motor symptoms of resting tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement and poor balance. At the time these symptoms first emerge, and the clinical diagnosis of PD can be made, approximately 70% of the dopaminergic brain cells have already been irreversibly lost. Early treatment intervention is likely to have the biggest impact on the course of the disease, however this is hampered by a lack of certainty about the diagnosis in the early stages when motor symptoms first emerge. The Discovery cohort established in 2010-2015 facilitated the recruitment and longitudinal assessment of 1100 early PD, 300 control and 300 individuals at-risk of future PD from the Thames Valley over 5 yrs. Individuals are studied at baseline and longitudinally every 18 months with standardised clinical assessments and blood tests, with the option of an additional MRI brain scan, lumbar puncture and skin biopsy. The study aim is to develop biomarkers to facilitate the earlier diagnosis and disease stratification of PD, supported by the strong multidisciplinary program of the Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre (OPDC), that has combined basic and clinical research to establish a major research centre in PD with an international reputation. An additional 5 years of funding to allow assessment of this cohort from 2015-20 was awarded by Parkinson's UK following scientific review, hence the current ethics application. Moving forward in the second phase of our research program, we will direct our increased knowledge of disease mechanisms to develop translational research aimed at changing clinical practice. Critically, our new program will now target the molecular pathways to Parkinson's exploiting new tools (i) to predict the onset of PD in at-risk individuals (ii) to stratify the progression of PD following diagnosis and (iii) to identify potential targets and treatments to prevent the development of PD

Principal Investigator

Prof Michele Hu

Contact us

Email: dendron@ouh.nhs.uk

IRAS number

188167