Disease: Parkinson's disease
Type of study: Observational trial
Coordinating investigators: Simon Kverneng & Kjersti Stige
Study directors: Charalampos Tzoulis & Mandar Jog
Background: Neurodegenerative parkinsonisms (NDPs) affect more than 10 million people worldwide today and an estimated 20 million by 2040. NDPs are divided into the phenotypically defined syndromes of Parkinson´s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and corticobasal syndrome (CBS). To date, all trials of putative neuroprotective agents for NDP have been invariably unsuccessful, and evidence suggests that this may largely be due to substantial molecular heterogeneity underlying each of these disorders. The vast clinicopathological diversity observed within each NDP entity (i.e., PD, PSP, MSA, CBD) has led to the hypothesis that each of these may not be a single pathogenic entity, but rather multiple disorders that are driven by different molecular processes and may, therefore, respond differently to therapies targeting specific biological pathways. Under this assumption, clinical trials of potential neuroprotective compounds should not be addressing each NDP syndrome as a single entity but rather target specific subgroups of patients with a homogeneous pathophysiology. However, efforts to identify molecular disease subtypes have not been successful.
The STRAT-PARK initiative is a multi-centre longitudinal cohort study aiming to stratify NDPs according to underlying biological mechanisms, so that tailored treatments can be developed and applied.
The primary objective of the STRAT-PARK initiative is to stratify and/or reclassify neurodegenerative parkinsonisms (NDP), according to underlying molecular disease mechanisms, and develop clinically applicable biomarkers enabling: (i) the classification of patients for participation in targeted clinical trials and (ii) monitoring of treatment efficacy in targeted clinical trials.
Status: STRAT-PARK is ongoing and a total of ~350 participants have been recruited at the end of 2024. The study protocol and characteristics of the population were published in 2024. Analyses of the collected material and data are ongoing and four original papers were submitted in 2024 and are accepted or under review/revision.
Participating centres
- Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen
- St. Olav’s University Hospital, Trondheim
- London Movement Disorders Centre, and Centre of Excellence for Parkinson’s disease, the Lawson Institute for Research, London, Ontario, Canada
Funding
- Michael J Fox Foundation
- Gerda Meyer Nyquist Guldbrandson and Gerdt Meyer Nyquist legat
- Helse Midt-Norge
- The Research Council of Norway, Neuro-SysMed
- Haukeland University Hospital
- Participating hospitals