Objective: The East London Parkinson Disease (ELPD) project is a platform study to understand the manifestations and determinants of PD in a diverse population.

Background: Although the burden of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) appears to grow fastest in low- and middle-low income countries, PD research continues to focus disproportionately on White, well-educated and affluent patients.

Method: Patients with PD (PwP) were recruited from the Royal London Hospital to the ELPD project; a case-control study of phenotype, genotype and biomarker characteristics. Clinical manifestations, UPDRS scores, data on non-motor symptoms, as well as biospecimens (buccal and skin swabs, plasma samples) have been obtained.

Results: 184 patients and 140 controls were recruited to the ELPD project. 50% of patients and 53.2% of controls identified as South Asian (SA)/Black (B) (patients: SA 37%, B 13%, controls: SA 50%, B 3.2%). 60% of patients and 52.3% of controls were male. PwP from SA and B, compared to White (W) ethnicities had significantly worse mean scores for UPDRS III (SA 42, B 47 vs W 35, p=0.029, p=0.004), UPDRS IV (SA 6.2, B 6.3 vs W 3.7, p=0.003, p=0.008) and MoCA (SA 18.6, B 19.7 vs W 23.9, p<0.001, p=0.007).

Conclusion: Our study indicates that PwP from South Asian and Black ethnicities have more severe motor and cognitive phenotypes. This finding highlights the importance of engaging diverse populations in research in order to better understand the spectrum of PD.

« Back to 2023 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-east-london-parkinson-disease-project-preliminary-results-from-a-diverse-population/