Category: Other
Objective: The Canadian Open Parkinson Network (C-OPN) is a pan-Canadian initiative that bridges people, data and resources to accelerate new discoveries in the field of Parkinsonisms.
Background: C-OPN aims to operate under the principles of Open Science by facilitating rapid sharing of data and samples with Canadian and international investigators. Ten of Canada’s top universities and movement disorders research centres from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are part of C-OPN.
Method: C-OPN recruits participants with Parkinson’s disease (PD), Parkinson Plus Syndromes (PPS) as well as healthy controls. The C-OPN database collects de-identified clinical data with comprehensive information about each participant’s demographics, along with details of their symptoms and medications; assessments results (MoCA, MDS-UPDRS); and a biobank with biomaterials extracted from blood samples (DNA, peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMC] and serum). These resources are made available to C-OPN members (clinicians, scientists, trainees) and industry partners via a digital platforms (REDCap and LORIS).
Results: To date, the project has enrolled over 1280 participants across Canada, including PD, PPS and healthy control groups. C-OPN participants exhibit a male:female ratio of 1.3:1, 91% report Caucasian or French-Canadian ethnicity and 74% report more than 12 years of education. The average age at diagnosis 60 years for PD and 69 years for PPS. While data sharing across provincial and international lines has limitations, the C-OPN model has overcome these challenges and 15 research projects and counting have utilized C-OPN resources to date.
Conclusion: Together, C-OPN seeks to support cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary and multi-site PD-related research studies across Canada and around the world. This project has been made possible by Parkinson Canada and Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund, with the financial support of Health Canada.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Cressatti, C. Normandeau, C. Degroot, I. Kathol, A. Stoessl, M. Mckeown, J. Miyasaki, R. Camicioli, D. Grimes, L. Kalia, A. Strafella, P. Macdonald, N. Dupré, E. Fon, O. Monchi. Navigating Open Science in Canada with the Canadian Open Parkinson Network [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/navigating-open-science-in-canada-with-the-canadian-open-parkinson-network/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/navigating-open-science-in-canada-with-the-canadian-open-parkinson-network/