NEW YORK (JTA) A study sponsored by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research will investigate a genetic mutation found more often in Ashkenazi Jews.
The Parkinsons Progression Markers Initiative, a large-scale biomarker study, is expanding to study individuals with genetic mutations associated with Parkinsons disease.
Among those mutations is the LRRK2, which accounts for a greater number of Parkinsons cases among certain ethnic populations and families, notably Jews of Eastern European descent.
The study will enroll 250 people with the LRRK2 mutation and Parkinsons and a like number with the mutation but without Parkinsons.
Genetic mutations account for 5% to 10% of all Parkinsons cases, but a study of these individuals may reveal disease traits that apply to all Parkinsons patients.
The Fox Foundation has secured 15 industry partners and co-funding sponsors for the initiative. They include Abbott Laboratories, Biogen, BMS, Covance, Eli Lilly, GE Healthcare, Genentech, GSK, Merck, Pfizer and Roche.
The study will take place at 32 clinical sites around the world.
