Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012, Cleveland: In an effort to study the interactions between genomics and Parkinson's disease, Cleveland Clinic has joined the ongoing efforts of 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, to recruit Parkinson's patients to participate in research by contributing their DNA to a research database and completing online surveys about their health.
Currently, little is known about how genes relate to Parkinson's disease, the effectiveness of treatments, or the natural course of the disease. The goal of this collaborative research effort which also has support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the National Parkinson Foundation and the Parkinson's Institute is to discover how genes and the environment influence Parkinson's disease.
"We are aware of the limitations of today's treatments, so we are always thinking about what we can do to advance the care of this incurable disease," said Andre Machado, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Cleveland Clinic's Center for Neurological Restoration. "This collaboration will help us to learn more about the genomics of Parkinson's disease and how it may impact individualized care in the future."
The project is part of Cleveland Clinic's personalized healthcare initiative, which aims to drive discoveries that allow medical professionals to better predict risk for disease and response to therapies, with the ultimate goal to improve patient care.
"We are offering this opportunity to our patients because as part of our 'Patients First' mission, we feel it is an important collaboration that could lead to improvements in our ability to predict and treat Parkinson's disease," said Kathryn Teng, M.D., Director of the Center for Personalized Healthcare at Cleveland Clinic. "Donating saliva, blood or tissue for research is a form of 'Patient Philanthropy.' It empowers our patients to participate in medical research and discoveries that can improve healthcare for themselves and others
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| Contact: Megan Pruce prucem@ccf.org 216-445-7452 Cleveland Clinic Source:Eurekalert |
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