PPMI Biomarker Validation

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a heterogeneous disorder with a long prodromal phase. Effective diagnosis prior to motor symptoms, when striatal neuron damage has already commenced, is not currently possible. Symptoms such as REM sleep behaviour disorder. hyposmia, depression and digestive problems can appear up to 20 years before disease onset. Although these are key risk factors, they do not reliably predict who will progress to PD. Early biomarkers are needed to distinguish individuals who will develop Parkinson’s from at risk individuals. Moreover, biomarkers that indicate disease trajectory, fast- and slow-progressing disease, are needed for patient stratification and improving clinical trial outcome. Biomarkers for target engagement and mechanistic markers are needed for monitoring drug efficacy, progression monitoring and providing a molecular definition of the disease. This project will analyse a new large cohort of Parkinson’s disease samples from the University of Amsterdam. This data will be used to validate our earlier findings from the Parkinson’s Progression Marker Initiative cohort.