Luxembourg’s Parkinson’s disease research excellence goes global

The National Centre of Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s disease (NCER-PD), Luxembourg’s flagship initiative coordinated by five partner institutions, has joined the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a landmark observational clinical study sponsored by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

The news was announced by the five partner organisations, the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), the University’s Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), the Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS) and Les Hôpitaux Robert Schuman (HRS).

Launched in 2010, the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is widely acknowledged as the most ambitious and impactful initiative in research on Parkinson’s disease. It aims to develop biological markers of Parkinson’s disease risk, onset and progression by establishing a large collection of clinical, imaging and biological samples in multiple cohorts, with the goal of advancing the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this neurodegenerative disease. In a significant recent breakthrough, PPMI already made possible the development of a novel biological test for Parkinson’s disease, which demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy, differentiates molecular subtypes and detects disease before movement symptoms arise. In the next phase of research, PPMI will expand its study population to include individuals who have not yet developed Parkinson’s movement symptoms, but who may be at increased risk of developing the disease.

PPMI operates on 51 clinical sites worldwide, which includes now NCER-PD for Luxembourg and Greater region.

In this context, NCER-PD will contribute to the global study with Luxembourg’s unparalleled expertise in establishing diverse cohorts of participants, by recruiting local participants – including both individuals living with PD and people at risk of developing it – at the Parkinson Research Clinic. Indeed, thousands of study participants in Luxembourg have already supported NCER-PD, namely through the initial cohort of 1,600 patients and matching control volunteers from the Greater Region, as well as through two new “at-risk” cohorts.

Participant enrolment at the Luxembourg PPMI site began in April and is expected to last until December 2026, aiming to recruit at least 50 individuals. The first Luxembourgish participants are currently undergoing the screening process for recruitment. This includes individuals older than 60 years with risk factors such as decreased sense of smell (hyposmia), first-degree family member with PD, genetic mutations in the LRRK2 and/or GBA genes, or a diagnosis of REM sleep behaviour disorder. Additional follow-up visits will be planned for included participants.

“Although progress has been made in terms of improving Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, we still need to further explore the role of a variety of factors in predicting the onset and progression of the disease. To this end, the establishment of cohorts of individuals displaying known risk factors is a key element. We are therefore delighted to contribute to such a prestigious international clinical study with our knowledge and expertise in setting up such cohorts and in biomarker discovery and validation”, explains Prof. Rejko Krüger, Director of Transversal Translational Medicine at the LIH, head of the Translational Neuroscience group at the LCSB, Neurologist at the CHL and coordinator of NCER-PD.

“We are extremely grateful to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for the unique opportunity to join such a pioneering international study, and we look forward to collaborating within this global initiative on excellence in the field of Parkinson’s disease. I would also like to renew our gratitude to all our current and prospective study participants for tangibly helping us in the ongoing fight against this neurodegenerative disease”, adds Prof Krüger.

“Bringing in the power of community to expand our understanding of Parkinson’s biology and the lived experience of patients is how the Foundation has enabled today’s latest scientific breakthroughs,” says Chief Scientific Officer of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research Dr. Mark Frasier. “Through the support of patients, loved ones, supporters and study leaders worldwide, PPMI has transformed everything we know about how the disease starts and changes over time. With the expansion of PPMI sites worldwide, including our friends at Luxembourg’s major research institutes, we’re poised to keep critical momentum moving forward in the biological era of Parkinson’s research.”

Funding and collaborations

This collaboration was made possible by the funding received from the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) to establish the National Centre of Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s Disease (NCER-PD).