Objective: To characterize the clinical and biological features of early-onset Parkinson’s disease in active-duty U.S. military service members, and examine associations between selected military-specific exposures and EOPD.

Background: Early-onset Parkinson’s disease (EOPD), defined as symptom onset before age 50, represents a uniquely challenging and understudied subgroup of patients with PD. The clinical, environmental, and biological factors contributing to EOPD remain poorly understood. Military service members experience unique occupational and environmental exposures, including repetitive head injury, blast exposure, toxic chemicals, sleep disruption, and psychological stressors, yet the potential contribution of these factors to early disease onset incompletely understood. The objective of this first-of-a-kind study is to explore potential factors contributing to EOPD in active-duty U.S. service members through integrated retrospective and prospective clinical and biomarker characterization.

Method: We are conducting a cross-sectional study of 30 U.S. military service members with confirmed EOPD. Participants undergo integrated clinical and biomarker evaluation, including comprehensive neurological examination, detailed military-relevant histories, standardized outcome measures using validated neuropsychiatric and sleep questionnaires, and review of military health records. Parkinson’s disease specific diagnostic data including cutaneous phosphorylated α-synuclein detection, olfactory function through the Philadelphia Smell test, gut microbiome profile tested via stool sample, and presence genetic variants and future biomarker analyses will be obtained. Military service records and occupational or environmental exposures are reported.  Descriptive analyses will define phenotypic, exposure, and biochemical patterns unique to this population.

Results: At time of submission, seven patients are participating and undergoing assessment. All seven participants are male with current or past U.S. military service. Findings are expected to identify military-specific risk patterns and unmet care needs, generating foundational data to guide future research. Enrollment is active at time of abstract submission.

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first ever cross sectional study of EOPD in U.S. service members with prospective and retrospective components aiming to characterize EOPD in service members.

« Back to 2026 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/driving-science-to-address-early-onset-parkinsons-disease-in-u-s-military-service-members/