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NCT Number: NCT04985539

The Personalized Parkinson Project De Novo Cohort

Currently, the Movement Disorders Society (MDS)-UPDRS scale remains the gold standard to document the outcomes in clinical trials for Parkinson's disease (PD). The MDS-UPDRS is far from infallible, as it is based on subjective scoring (using a rather crude ordinal score), while execution of the tests depends on clinical experience. Not surprisingly, the scale is subject to both significant intra- and inter-rater variability that are sufficiently large to mask an underlying true difference between an effective intervention and placebo. Digital biomarkers may be able to overcome the limitations of the MDS-UPDRS, as they continuously collects real-time data, during the patient's day to day activities. In this study the investigators are interested in developing algorithms to track progression of bradykinesia, gait impairment, postural sway, tremor, physical activity, sleep quality, and autonomic dysfunction (the latter being derived from e.g. skin conductance and changes in heart rate variability).

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Conditions

Parkinson Disease Basal Ganglia Diseases Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Disease Attributes Disease Progression Movement Disorders Nervous System Diseases Neurodegenerative Diseases Parkinsonian Disorders Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Synucleinopathies

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Radboud University Medical Center

Nijmegen, 6500 HB, Netherlands

About this study

This PPP de NOVO cohort aims to validate novel digital biomarkers for disease progression, fostering the unique research infrastructure and data collection protocol that are available. The PPP de NOVO cohort consists of patients with de novo (i.e., newly diagnosed and previously untreated) Parkinson's disease who will be followed longitudinally for two years. De novo patients create the opportunity to study disease progression without interference of pharmacological treatment. The observation of this natural process in the earliest course of the disease is highly relevant for the development disease modifying interventions, which are likely to have the biggest potential in the earliest phases of the disease, when the loss of substantia nigra cells is minimal. In particular, the investigators will deploy the PPP de NOVO cohort for the development of digital biomarkers that could serve as a surrogate or, with time, possibly as key secondary or even a primary outcome in future clinical trials of disease-modifying interventions. Digital biomarkers hold great promise in this regard, as they provide a means to objectively track patients and measure their function in their own living environment, unobtrusively, and over long periods of time. The outcomes are potentially more sensitive than currently available clinical scales, which also be included in the protocol and perhaps also more relevant as they provide an insight into daily life functioning over extended periods of time.

The primary objective is to develop novel digital biomarkers that allow for measurement of disease progression in de novo PD patients.

Our hypothesis is that digital progression biomarkers will have greater sensitivity and greater power for detecting disease progression than conventional scales.

The secondary objective is to test the feasibility of the Proof-Of-Concept (POC) study protocol that UCB (Union Chimique Belge) Pharma will use for their potentially disease modifying treatment. The PPP de NOVO study is considered instrumental in optimizing planning, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation of the digital data collected in the POC study.

The third objective of this study is to create an extensive longitudinal dataset describing the clinical and functional characteristics of a representative PD de novo cohort to allow researchers to investigate important unanswered questions in PD.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Subject has Parkinson's disease of ≤2 years of duration, defined as the time since the diagnosis was made by a neurologist.
  • Subject is an adult, at least 18 years of age.
  • Subject can read and understand Dutch.
  • Subject has completed the Informed Consent, as approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  • Subject is willing, competent, and able to comply with all aspects of the protocol, including follow-up schedule and bio-specimen collection.
  • Subject has never been treated before with any symptomatic dopaminergic drug treatment for Parkinson's disease and is not expected to start treatment for motor symptoms of PD within 52 weeks from baseline.

Exclusion criteria

  • Subject has co-morbidities that would hamper interpretation of parkinsonian disability, such as coincident musculoskeletal abnormalities, in the opinion of the Investigator.
  • Subject is taking Mucuna Pruriens.
  • For Study Watch: subject is allergic to nickel.

Treatment and study plan

Verily Study Watch

Device

Participants wear the Verily Study Watch for 2 years, for longitudinal data collection.

Primary outcomes

  1. Annual change in digital biomarkers for gait

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Identify (a combined set of) gait-related features extracted from wearable sensor data, that are relevant for patients and that are sensitive to disease progression in de novo PD patients. Which outcome and which Unit of Measure for gait will be selected cannot be defined on forehand, as this is part of the analytical approach, as described by Manta et al. (Digital measures of health that matter to patients. Digit Biomark 2020;4:69-77).

  2. Annual change in digital biomarkers for tremor

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Identify (a combined set of) tremor-related features extracted from wearable sensor data, that are relevant for patients and that are sensitive to disease progression in de novo PD patients. Which outcome and which Unit of Measure for tremor will be selected cannot be defined on forehand, as this is part of the analytical approach, as described by Manta et al. (Digital measures of health that matter to patients. Digit Biomark 2020;4:69-77).

  3. Annual change in digital biomarkers for bradykinesia

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Identify (a combined set of) bradykinesia-related features extracted from wearable sensor data, that are relevant for patients and that are sensitive to disease progression in de novo PD patients. Which outcome and which Unit of Measure for bradykinesia will be selected cannot be defined on forehand, as this is part of the analytical approach, as described by Manta et al. (Digital measures of health that matter to patients. Digit Biomark 2020;4:69-77).

  4. Annual change in digital biomarkers for postural sway

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Identify (a combined set of) postural sway-related features extracted from wearable sensor data, that are relevant for patients and that are sensitive to disease progression in de novo PD patients. Which outcome and which Unit of Measure for postural sway will be selected cannot be defined on forehand, as this is part of the analytical approach, as described by Manta et al. (Digital measures of health that matter to patients. Digit Biomark 2020;4:69-77).

  5. Annual change in digital biomarkers for time active vs inactive during the day

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Identify (a combined set of) features that reflect the time a person is active and inactive during the day, extracted from wearable sensor data, that are relevant for patients and that are sensitive to disease progression in de novo PD patients. Which outcome and which Unit of Measure for time active vs inactive during the day will be selected cannot be defined on forehand, as this is part of the analytical approach, as described by Manta et al. (Digital measures of health that matter to patients. Digit Biomark 2020;4:69-77).

  6. Annual change in digital biomarkers for heart rate variability

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Identify (a combined set of) features that reflect heart rate variability, extracted from wearable sensor data, that are relevant for patients and that are sensitive to disease progression in de novo PD patients. Which outcome and which Unit of Measure for heart rate variability will be selected cannot be defined on forehand, as this is part of the analytical approach, as described by Manta et al. (Digital measures of health that matter to patients. Digit Biomark 2020;4:69-77).

  7. Annual change in digital biomarkers for skin impedance

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Identify (a combined set of) features that reflect skin impedance, extracted from wearable sensor data, that are relevant for patients and that are sensitive to disease progression in de novo PD patients. Which outcome and which Unit of Measure for skin impedance will be selected cannot be defined on forehand, as this is part of the analytical approach, as described by Manta et al. (Digital measures of health that matter to patients. Digit Biomark 2020;4:69-77).

Secondary outcomes

  1. Perceived feasibility of longitudinal follow-up and repeated assessments

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Participants will be asked to complete an exit survey, which asks for their perception of the protocol burden (0-10 point scale)

  2. Compliance to weekly structured tasks

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Percentage of weeks in which the tasks were completed during the two-year follow-up (0-100%)

  3. Compliance to wearing the smartwatch

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Percentage of weartime during the two-year follow-up (0-100%)

  4. Drop-out rate

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up

    Percentage of participants who withdraw their informed consent during the two-year follow-up (0-100%)

  5. Change in PRO-Mobility

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up, every 13 weeks

    Participants will be asked to complete a 23-items Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) survey on mobility-related aspects, on a 0-4 scale. Total score ranges from 0-72.

  6. Change in PGI-S Mobility

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up, every 13 weeks

    Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S): participants will be asked to score their perceived severity of their mobility problems over the past 7 days on a 4-point scale (none, mild, moderate, severe)

  7. Change in PRO-Fatigue

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up, every 13 weeks

    Participants will be asked to complete a 31-items Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) survey on fatigue-related aspects, on a 0-4 scale. Total score ranges from 0-124.

  8. Change in PGI-S Fatigue

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up, every 13 weeks

    Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S): participants will be asked to score their perceived severity level of fatigue over the past 7 days on a 4-point scale (none, mild, moderate, severe)

  9. Change in PRO-Functional Slowness

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up, every 13 weeks

    Participants will be asked to complete a 44-items Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) survey on functional slowness-related aspects, on a 0-4 scale. Total score ranges from 0-176.

  10. Change in PGI-S Functional Slowness

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up, every 13 weeks

    Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S): participants will be asked to score their perceived severity level of functional slowness over the past 7 days on a 4-point scale (none, mild, moderate, severe)

  11. Change in PGI-S Symptoms

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up, every 13 weeks

    Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S): participants will be asked to score their perceived severity of their Parkinson's disease symptoms over the past 7 days on a 4-point scale (none, mild, moderate, severe)

  12. Change in PGI-C Symptoms

    Time frame: From baseline till two year follow-up, every 13 weeks

    Patient Global Impression of Change(PGI-S): participants will be asked to score their perceived change in severity of their Parkinson's disease symptoms since baseline on a 4-point scale (none, mild, moderate, severe)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Radboud University Medical Center

Other

Collaborators

  • UCB Pharma
  • Verily Life Sciences LLC

Registry information

Acronym: PPP-novo

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Aug 2, 2021
Registry last updated
Mar 24, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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