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Centogene, University of Lübeck to Investigate Genetics of Parkinson's Disease

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Centogene said today that it has launched a two-year study to investigate the genetic factors involved in Parkinson's disease in collaboration with the University of Lübeck in Germany.

The study — called the Rostock International Parkinson's Disease Study, or ROPAD — will enroll around 10,000 individuals worldwide and use Centogene's CentoCard dried blood spot collection kit to identify study participants with mutations in Parkinson's disease-associated genes including LRRK2 and GBA.

Study participants with disease-linked mutations will have the option to undergo additional clinical assessment in a supplementary study — called LRRK2 International Parkinson's Disease Project, or LIPAD, and being conducted at the university — where they will be phenotyped in order to describe the frequency of key clinical signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Patients enrolled in ROPAD with a LRRK2 mutation may also be able to take part in future clinical studies of Parkinson's disease treatments under development by Denali Therapeutics, which partnered with Centogene in 2018 to find patients for its clinical trials.

"All too often clinical studies do not reflect the ethnic diversity of the world, and this study is unique in that we are working across all ethnicities worldwide and crosschecking the effect of environmental components and individual genetics," Centogene Founder and CEO Arndt Rolfs said in a statement.