Research Roundup: Recruiting Studies on Parkinson’s Progression and Symptoms

Join The Michael J. Fox Foundation's mission to discover better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for Parkinson's disease. Whether you have Parkinson's or not, participating in research is a powerful way to contribute to these efforts. In this research roundup blog, we highlight MJFF-funded and partner studies currently seeking volunteers. Some of these studies focus on treating motor symptoms and slowing disease progression, while others involve long-term participant observation to deepen our understanding of the disease.

Explore the links to find out how you can get involved in each study, and please share this information with your networks.

• Landmark Study Enrolling Anyone Aged 18+: MJFF's landmark study, the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), is recruiting volunteers with and without PD. The study is exploring how brain disease starts and changes in people of all backgrounds. PPMI is open to anyone over age 18 - with and without Parkinson's - in the U.S. Learn more and join the study that's changing everything. Smell loss can be an early sign of Parkinson's risk. PPMI is also offering free smell tests to anyone age 60 and up without Parkinson's. Request a free scratch-and-sniff test today and contribute to important research at mysmelltest.org/mjff.

• A Study to Delay Parkinson's Progression: The LUMA Study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of an oral drug to see if it may delay the progression of Parkinson's disease in people who are in the early stage of their condition. Sponsored by Biogen, they are recruiting people who have been diagnosed with the disease within the last two years, ages 30 to 80 years old and have never been treated with PD medications. Click here for more information and see if you qualify.

• A Study to Improve Symptoms: UCB Biopharma SRL is sponsoring a clinical study, called the ATLANTIS Study, to evaluate the investigational drug UCB0022 in people with Parkinson's disease. They are recruiting people who received their diagnosis at least five years ago, who are 35 to 85 years of age and whose motor (movement) symptoms change significantly over the course of the day. This is a phase 2 study that studies the effectiveness, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics (how the medication is processed in the body) of this once-daily oral (by mouth) medication. The study is being run in several study centers across the United States. For more information visit atlantis-study.com.

• Karen Wu

  Specialist, Science Communications