Backing the future of Parkinson's research

Imperial College is set to become a research centre in a major new study into Parkinson’s disease, led by Hollywood star Michael J Fox.

The research, co-ordinated and part-funded by the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, will recruit patients in the earliest stages of the disease in a bid to boost our understanding of how it progresses over time.

Scientists intend to use samples taken from 400 patients from five research centres in Europe, including ones in Italy, Germany and Austria, as well as from 14 hospitals in the United States.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that affects about 120,000 people in the UK.

It is caused by a loss of nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine, a chemical messenger important for co-ordinating movement. As a result, sufferers often experience slow movement, tremors and rigidity.

Scientists do not currently have any cure for Parkinson’s, nor any definitive way of measuring how the disease progresses.

Research suggests drugs already being used to treat the condition are to some extent effective at halting its progression, but more data on the progressive process is needed, which is why the study – the first of its kind – will be crucial.

It is hoped the research will produce biomarkers that will enable doctors to monitor progress in Parkinson’s sufferers and help assess drug efficiency.

The research centres will follow patients for 3-5 years, recruiting them before they begin any treatment. The patients will undergo brain scans and have their motor skills analysed. Scientists will also examine samples of their blood, urine and spinal fluid.

The data will be compared along the way with that from healthy volunteers to pinpoint how the condition unfolds in their bodies and how and why their nerve cells are dying.

Michael J Fox was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease in 1991, aged just 30. The Back to the Future star set up the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000, with the intention of raising awareness and funding for the disease.

“If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that better treatments aren’t going to fall from the sky”, said Fox. “Real challenges stand in the way of the results we need”.

The study is set to start in the next few months and the UK site will be led by David Brooks, Professor of Neurology here at Imperial.

With one person being told they have Parkinson’s every hour in the UK, let’s hope the study will help improve our understanding of this debilitating disease and how it progresses as soon as possible.