Hereditary Parkinson s Disease Natural History Protocol

Hereditary Parkinson Disease Natural History Protocol

Background:

- Parkinson s disease is a disease of the nervous system that affects movement. People usually get it in their 70s or 80s. Early onset Parkinson s disease (EOPD) begins before the age of 50. Researchers think EOPD may be caused by a mutation in a gene. They want to study the genetic causes so they can find therapies for this disease.

Objective:

- To better understand the genetic causes of EOPD.

Eligibility:

• Adults ages 18 80 with a history of EOPD. Their family members, who do not have Parkinson s disease, can join as controls.
• Healthy volunteers ages 18 80.

Design:

• Participants with EOPD and their relatives will be screened with a review of medical records. Healthy volunteers will have medical history, physical exam, and blood drawn.
• Relatives may send blood samples to NIH to test for mutations in genes that are linked to Parkinson s disease. They may have a physical exam.
• Participants may be asked to return to clinic for another visit that can last up to 2 hours.
• During this visit, participants will have blood taken from a vein in the arm via a needle stick.
• Participants may give a sample of their skin. The skin on the arm or leg will be numbed and a small skin punch biopsy will be taken with a special needle.
• Some cells from the blood or skin sample may be grown in a lab to establish cell lines. The cells may also potentially be genetically modified to make stem cells.
• Researchers may perform genetic analysis on the samples to compare them to EOPD patient samples.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parkinson Disease 6, Early-Onset; Parkinson Disease (Autosomal Recessive, Early Onset) 7, Human; Parkinson Disease Autosomal Recessive, Early Onset; Parkinson Disease, Autosomal Recessive Early-Onset, Digenic, Pink1/Dj1

Detailed Description

The majority of subjects with the degenerative Parkinson's Disease (PD) present in the 7th and 8th decades of life. In contrast, this neurologic disease can present within the first 5 decades of life. This early onset presentation is more likely to have a direct genetic cause relative to the etiology of the degenerative form of the disease. Our understanding of the genetic causes of early onset Parkinson's Disease (EOPD) may help us find therapies for both the genetic and degenerative illnesses. Data from our laboratory and others show that genetic mutations associated with EOPD, disrupt cellular stress-response programs. These perturbations, in turn, impair cell-repair process, which is hypothesized to increase susceptibility to dopaminergic neuron degeneration linked to EOPD and degenerative PD. At the same time, patients with EOPD have a variable age of onset (spanning from 8 years to 41 years in the subjects in our cohort) and disease penetrance (severity of symptoms). The hypothesis we propose to test is whether the number and allele distributions of EOPD susceptibility gene mutations account for the variable age of onset and disease penetrance. This hypothesis will be tested in this natural history protocol by genotyping subjects with EOPD to define their genetic defects and to explore the cellular reparative function in these individuals using peripheral blood cells, skin biopsy derived fibroblasts and induced pluripotential stems cells derived from these subjects. In parallel, the phenotype of these subjects will be evaluated by the NINDS Parkinson's Clinic. Together, these data should advance our insight into the genotype-phenotype in EOPD pathophysiology.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 31

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
      • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Subjects that develop symptoms of Parkinson Disease within the first 5 decades of life would be enrolled onto this protocol. Additionally, subjects previously enrolled on protocol 12-H-0084 may also be enrolled on this protocol. Age (+/- 5 yrs) and gender matched healthy volunteers will be recruited as controls for this protocol. Controls will be recruited via web advertisements. An email advertisement will also be sent out via the NIH LISTSERV to aid in the recruitment of healthy volunteers. A list of healthy volunteers may also be requested from the NIH Office of Patient Recruitment. Family member controls without clinical evidence of Parkinsonism may be recruited as controls for index research subjects.

Description

• INCLUSION CRITERIA

Parkinson's Subjects

- Age 18 years to 80 years old with a history of early onset Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism (Presentation within the first five decades of life).

Healthy Control Subjects

- Age 18 years to 80 years old with no history or family history of Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism.

Family Member Control Subjects

-Family members, of enrolled EOPD subjects, who themselves do not have Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism can be enrolled as controls on this study.

All Subjects

• Willingness and legal ability to give and sign informed study consent
• Willingness to have blood or tissue samples studied, and potentially stored for future research

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

All Subjects

• Subjects who are unable or unwilling to sign an informed consent
• Subjects with genetic defects associated with diseases including other neurologic syndromes.
• Pregnancy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

3

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Family Member Control Subjects; Family members, of enrolled EOPD subjects, who themselves do not have Parkinson disease or Parkinsonism can be enrolled as controls on this study.
Healthy Control Subjects; Age 18 years to 80 years old with no history or family history of Parkinson disease or Parkinsonism.
Parkinson Subjects; Age 18 years to 80 years old with a history of early onset Parkinson disease or Parkinsonism (Presentation within the first five decades of life).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The primary objective of this study is to genetically define the combination of autosomal recessive genetic defects linked to EOPD and characterize their composite molecular and physiologic effect on cellular homeostasis and response to dopamine...	genetically define the combination of autosomal recessive genetic defects linked to EOPD and characterize their composite molecular and physiologic effect on cellular homeostasis and response to dopaminergic stressors.	5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The secondary objective is to evaluate whether these composite of these genetic defects and their effects on cellular quality control correlate to age of onset and disease penetrance in EOPD subjects.	The secondary objective is to evaluate whether these composite of these genetic defects and their effects on cellular quality control correlate to age of onset and disease penetrance in EOPD subjects.	5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Derek P Narendra, M.D., National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Greenamyre JT, Hastings TG. Biomedicine. Parkinson's--divergent causes, convergent mechanisms. Science. 2004 May 21;304(5674):1120-2. doi: 10.1126/science.1098966. No abstract available.
• Klein C, Lohmann-Hedrich K, Rogaeva E, Schlossmacher MG, Lang AE. Deciphering the role of heterozygous mutations in genes associated with parkinsonism. Lancet Neurol. 2007 Jul;6(7):652-62. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(07)70174-6.
• Arbuthnott GW, Wickens J. Space, time and dopamine. Trends Neurosci. 2007 Feb;30(2):62-9. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2006.12.003. Epub 2006 Dec 13.

Helpful Links

• NIH Clinical Center Detailed Web Page

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 8, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 7, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): August 15, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 28, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 28, 2015
• First Posted (Estimated): July 29, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 24, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 23, 2026
• Last Verified: September 19, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Immunology; Neuroinflammation; Natural History; Mitochondria; Early Onset Parkinson's Disease; Cellular Quality Control Programs
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Synucleinopathies; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Inflammation; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Movement Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neuroinflammatory Diseases; Parkinson Disease; Parkinsonian Disorders; Parkinson Disease 6, Autosomal Recessive Early-Onset
• Other Study ID Numbers: 150155; 15-H-0155

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No