Objective: To establish and longitudinally expand a nationwide Parkinson’s disease (PD) cohort in Korea (K-PD cohort) and develop an ethnicity-specific precision medicine platform integrating clinical, imaging, and biological data.

Background: PD is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with diverse clinical phenotypes and progression patterns. While large international cohorts such as the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative have advanced biomarker discovery, they are largely composed of North American and European populations. Asian ethnicity-specific longitudinal data remain limited.

Method: This multicenter observational cohort was conducted through a network of twelve university-affiliated hospitals. The platform integrates: Clinomics—comprehensive motor and non-motor phenotyping; Radiomics—dopamine transporter PET and MRI; and Biomics—biospecimens including serum, plasma, and DNA. All data were standardized and integrated into a centralized national database. The project was implemented in two phases: Phase I (2021–2023), establishment of infrastructure and harmonized data collection; Phase II (2024–2026), longitudinal expansion with ongoing recruitment and serial follow-up.

Results: During Phase I, 761 patients were enrolled. Standardized clinical data were obtained for all participants; biological samples were collected from 750 individuals, and dopaminergic imaging data were available for 330, forming a foundation for integrated clinical–biomarker analyses. In Phase II, the cohort continues to expand with approximately 250 newly diagnosed patients recruited annually, alongside structured follow-up of previously enrolled participants. Serial biospecimen collection has enabled development of a longitudinal biobank linked to detailed phenotypic and imaging datasets. Phase III will focus on multimodal integration of imaging, genomic and blood biomarkers to identify prognostic indicators and model disease trajectories. A sustainable national data-sharing framework will support translational research and international comparative studies.

Conclusion: The K-PD cohort represents one of the largest relatively homogeneous East Asian PD populations. Its continued expansion and multimodal integration will enable trajectory modeling, prognostic biomarker discovery, and globally relevant precision-medicine research in PD.

References: Oh S, Sohn HY, Seo J, Kang E, Park JK, Moon SY, Kim HJ, Jung NY, Lee SM, Cheon BK, Jang H, Kang SH, Kang S, Choi KY, Yoo SW, Kim YJ, Cho J, Kim EJ, Seo SW, Lee KH, Kim JS, Koh YH, Kim CH, Kwon M, Kang D. Profile for Brain Disease Research Infrastructure for Data Gathering and Exploration (BRIDGE) Platform. Aging Dis. 2026;17(1):499–514.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/development-of-a-nationwide-parkinsons-disease-cohort-in-korea-toward-an-ethnicity-specific-precision-medicine-platform/