SECTION 2 : MOMENTUM
2022 IN REVIEW
A Cornerstone of Brain Research : The Parkinson ’ s Progression Markers Initiative
Since its launch more than a decade ago , the Parkinson ’ s Progression Markers Initiative has transformed how brain research is done , and what we know today about Parkinson ’ s . PPMI is our landmark observational study created in 2010 to anticipate fieldwide challenges and minimize roadblocks in the development of therapies that could slow or stop disease . Now with 42 industry and philanthropic partners — including leadership support from ASAP ( Aligning Sciences Across Parkinson ’ s ), a coordinated initiative to advance basic research for Parkinson ’ s — PPMI has created seismic impact on the field ’ s position today and path forward . Over the last decade , the study has built the most robust data set and biosample library in Parkinson ’ s research , leading to critical advances in how disease and treatments are considered and evaluated .
THE MICHAEL J . FOX FOUNDATION
The Search for Volunteers Who Can Change Everything
As more therapies enter and move through clinical testing in people with Parkinson ’ s and with growing interest in intervening before motor symptoms appear , PPMI is expanding , with its largest , most ambitious search for volunteers to date . Researchers now have solid data that defines who is at risk for developing Parkinson ’ s . In the study ’ s new expansion , PPMI will more than double its cohort of prodromal volunteers — people with risk factors but not a diagnosis — seen in the clinic . This could exponentially enhance what we know about the earliest stages of disease — before common motor symptoms , like tremor , appear . In tandem , the study is expanding recruitment to recently diagnosed individuals and further extending follow-up beyond five years from enrollment to vastly increase our understanding of what happens post-diagnosis .
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