UH selected as study site for Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease study

University Hospitals

University Hospitals (UH) has been selected by the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) as one of four new study sites for the Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease (BLAAC PD) study, according to a news release.

The Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease is an initiative of Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program in a dedicated effort to better understand the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease among underrepresented populations by genotyping more than 150,000 individuals from around the world, the release said.

Most recently, the Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease contributed to findings of a novel GBA1 variant in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and African ancestry, which demonstrated that the variant is prevalent throughout African populations, according to the release.

With the selection as a Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease site, UH will receive funding to support study visit costs, supplies, community engagement strategy support, staffing support and participant incentives, the release said.

Additionally, as a part of Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program, UH becomes a part of the largest Parkinson’s disease genetics consortium in the world.

“We are happy to be a part of the network of (Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease) sites across the U.S. and the (Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program) global network in order to expand understanding of Parkinson’s disease within the Black and African American communities,” said Camilla Kilbane, MD, neurologist at UH and director of Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Center in the release. “We look forward to continuing to contribute to a more holistic, global understanding of Parkinson’s disease by increasing representation in our study populations and learning more about gene changes that may cause the disease.”

Kilbane also an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, medical director for the Deep Brain Stimulation Program and program director for movement disorders, the release said.

This expansion will broaden the geographic diversity of Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease’s locations across the U.S. by increasing representation of the diverse Black and African American community, and build a base for greater discovery and application of findings across ancestries, the release said.

UH was one of four new sites included in this expansion, and joined UT Health in Houston, Texas; Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.; and Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C.