It is increasingly recognised that there is not only one Parkinson’s disease but that the term Parkinson’s disease comprises different groups of patients with similar symptoms that may differ in clinical symptoms, age at disease onset or genetic contribution to the disease. Therefore, defining subgroups of Parkinson’s patients who share the same cause of the disease may help to offer them customised treatments, for example novel targeted treatment concepts.

Brain imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging methods (MRI), are used to investigate how the structure and function of the brain may change as a result of a GBA mutation and thereby define different steps of the course of the disease.

Since the occurrence of the mutation does not imply that an individual will develop Parkinson's, both people with PD and healthy controls (with or without mutations in the GBA gene) are invited to participate in the study. Based on the systematic genetic profiling of all participants in the Luxembourg Parkinson’s study - done in accordance with the written consent for genetic analysis, which includes an examination of the GBA gene - both participants with and without mutations in the GBA gene will be invited to participate in the GBA-MRI study. People with PD and healthy controls who qualify for the study will be kindly invited to support research on Parkinson’s disease in Luxembourg through this new study.

This study is conducted in collaboration with the renowned Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, one of the most distinguished European centres for imaging in neurodegenerative diseases.

All study participants would travel with a dedicated and accompanied transport to Nijmegen and undergo examination for structural and functional differences in their brains using MRI scans. A professional team from the Parkinson Research Clinic will accompany all participants throughout the entire period. The study covers all the travel expenses. The stay is planned for two nights for people with Parkinson’s disease and one night for healthy controls.

If you are interested in the study, do not hesitate to contact our research team:

Phone: +352 44 11 4848.

Email: parkinson@chl.lu

For more information on the study, read the study information sheet for healthy controls and people carrying GBA mutation (LINK)