Participants

The ultimate goal for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) is to develop disease-modifying treatments that slow, prevent, or reverse the underlying disease process.

Your participation in the Parkinson’s Disease Biomarkers Program will provide important contributions to the identification of biomarkers for PD and/or related disorders, as well as to the future development of treatments that will slow down the progression of these diseases. To date, a total of 5318 individuals have been enrolled in the PDBP.

People with Parkinson's Disease

Who can participate

People with Parkinson's Disease
People without Parkinson's Disease

People who do not have parkinson’s disease, or any other neurological diagonosis. These people are known as “controls”.

People with a Parkinson-like disorder (Parkinsonism)

Examples include Essential Tremor, Lewy Body Dementia, Multiple System Atrophy, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, and Corticobasal Degeneration.

View projects looking for participants

What to expect as a participant

Physical Examinations

Each visit will involve a physical examination and some additional testing.

Regular Visits

You will be asked to visit the site at least once per year, and testing will usually take a day or two.

Give Biosamples

You will be asked to give a blood sample and, in most cases, a sample of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) extracted from the lower back via a simple procedure.

Facts about lumbar puncture

Paper and Pencil Tests

You will be given paper and pencil tests to assess memory and perception, and asked questions about your mood, your sleep, and other functions that can sometimes be affected in PD and related disorders.

Scratch and Sniff Tests

You will be asked to do a “scratch and sniff” smell test because many people with PD and related disorders experience changes in their sense of smell.

Additional Evaluations

Each site may have a few additional evaluations based on the specific goals of their study, allowing the individual sites to use their greatest scientific strengths and expertise.

Still have questions? View our frequently asked questions about participants.

Participants share their biomarker study experiences.

Listen to first hand accounts of men and women who have participated in studies.

Get Involved

Interested in participating in a study? The projects below are actively enrolling study participants at the listed locations. Click on the project title to learn more.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies Consortium (U01)

Cleveland Clinic (Primary)
Florida Atlantic University
University of North Carolina
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
VA-Puget Sound Health Care System - University of Washington
Thomas Jefferson University
Rush University
University of California San Diego