Study Synopsis
Why, despite so many years of research into Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, do we still not have a cure? To be able to find a cure, we must understand the disease in depth, which raises even more questions: What do we really know about Parkinson’s and dementia? Do we really know what happens in the brains of people with neurodegenerative diseases? Why do different patients with the same disease have different symptoms and prognoses? Different studies have tried to answer the same question, but without success.
Why haven’t we been able to answer these questions? There are several factors, the most important of which is that we have grouped symptoms into a single disease when we see that different patients have different symptoms. Another factor is that the development of a disease requires both genetic and environmental factors. Studying these factors is challenging as it requires a complete study of how the disease could have developed. CCBP attempts to integrate the different factors that may be causing the disease to answer the first questions.
About CCBP
The Cincinnati Cohort Biomarker Program is a comprehensive study with 10 years of follow-up that seeks to get rid of the old labels’ doctors have been using to diagnose these diseases so we can look for new ways that can more accurately describe what is happening with everyone.
In this study, individuals will not be analyzed based on the diagnosis given to them at the bedside. CCBP will try to identify different “types” of neurodegenerative diseases. Each neurodegenerative disease will be separated into biological subtypes and then match each one to therapies, many of which are already available, to slow disease progression.
CCBP aims to have an answer by the end of 2029. We aim to have the first individualized therapy that slows or stops the progression of a well-defined biological type of neurodegeneration being Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or any other disease of brain aging.
Parkinson's Disease
Participants with Parkinson's disease, with and without genetic risk variants.
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Alzheimer's disease
Participants at risk based on features, genetic variants, or biomarkers.
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Healthy Controls
Participants with no neurologic disorder and no first degree relative with PD.
LEARN MORE →About the study
CCBP is an observational study, meaning we collect data, not provide treatment. We try to understand the genetic and environmental factors that may be causing the disease.
About the visits
A total of eleven visits will be made over 10 years. The visits are divided into three sections: clinical, mobility assessment, and laboratory/imaging. The clinical and mobility assessment sections will be performed every year, and the laboratory section will be performed every three years. A subgroup of patients will undergo brain MRI.
Where are we?
The study can be conducted in the clinic or at home (phone and telehealth visits). For the baseline and visits for years 3, 6 and 9, we require you to do presential visits, but the other visits can be made at home. Our clinic is located on the third floor of the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute.
Anyone older than 18 years old with
- Documented parkinsonian features or a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease
- Essential tremor
- Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
- Multiple systems atrophy
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
- Cortical Degeneration
- Freezing of gait
Anyone older than 18 years old with
- Alzheimer's Dementia
- Parkinson's disease dementia
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Dementia with Lewy Body
- Mixed dementia
Anyone older than 18 years old
- Without neurological disease are also welcomed to participate
