The BioFINDER Sleep study was launched in 2021 to establish a prodromal and mild Parkinson’s disease (PD) cohort representing early symptomatic phases of neuronal a-synuclein disease. It extends on the BioFINDER-1 and BioFINDER-2 studies by not only including patients with early PD, but also persons with idiopathic REM sleep behavioral disorder (iRBD; who are very likely to have underlying a-synuclein pathology). The establishment of this cohort provides essential insights into the underlying mechanisms of the progressive neurodegenerative processes in central and peripheral nervous systems of PD patients and in persons with iRBD. To this end we use state of the art multimodal imaging techniques (PET and MRI) as well as quantification of CSF and blood biomarkers. This is in parallel to clinical assessments of motor and non-motor symptoms as well as assessment of cognitive function in a longitudinal setting. Polysomnography is used to establish the presence of RBD in both the early PD cohort and in the iRBD cohort.
General aims
- To develop and validate fluid biomarkers, imaging methods and digital tests that improve the diagnostic and prognostic work-up of prodromal Parkinson’s disease.
- To study longitudinal changes in biomarkers, imaging modalities and symptoms over time in people with prodromal and early PD to better understand the initial symptomatic phases of the disease and to establish a relevant clinical staging system for the disease.
- To establish whether different subtypes of the disease exist, and whether these subtypes exhibit different clinical and biomarker trajectories over time.
- To study whether co-morbidities, like presence of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, change the clinical and biomarker trajectories over time in people with prodromal or early PD.