Biomarker Signatures of Parkinson’s Disease Using a Novel Progression Model

Study Rationale:                   

Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects everyone differently. While no two people are alike in how they experience PD, there are groups of people with PD who share similar features and whose disease changes similarly over time. Accurately identifying these groups may allow physicians to tailor treatment, patients and their families to optimize support, and researchers to improve study design. This project aims to apply a unique approach to identifying groups of individuals with PD who have distinct clinical features, change in a specific pattern over time, and have distinct biomarker profiles; that is, a unique pattern of biological measures (brain scans, and measures of proteins in cerebrospinal fluid and blood). 

Hypothesis:

We hypothesize that our personalized computer model will identify groups of individuals with PD who have a unique pattern of biological measures, including dopamine transporter scans and measures of proteins in cerebrospinal fluid and blood.

Study Design:

We will apply our algorithm to participants in ongoing PD studies, including the Parkinson Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). This computer model will identify groups of patients in which we will compare their biomarker profile. We will then apply a new statistical method to explore clusters of proteins in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid which may help identify new biological pathways that contribute to the disease in the different groups. 

Impact on Diagnosis/Treatment of Parkinson’s disease:              

Accurately identifying groups of individuals with PD who share similar features and whose disease changes similarly over time is important for patients and their families, so that they can understand their prognosis, or what to expect from their disease in the future. For research purposes, knowing what group an individual with PD belongs to is critical for efficiently designing research studies that maximize the ability to accurately test new PD treatments. 

Next Steps for Development:

Our computer model of PD will be made available to the research community, allowing for its wide application to data from diverse samples of individuals with PD, which will help refine the model and ultimately make it a tool for doctors to provide a personalized prognosis to their patients, and for researchers to offer targeted treatments in clinical trials.