A Study of the Sense of Smell in Relatives of Parkinson's Disease Patients

Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders

Status: Completed

Conditions: Parkinsonian Syndrome; Parkinson Disease

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00096876

SENSOR

Details and patient eligibility

About

In this study, individuals complete and return a mail survey, specifically a 40 item scratch and sniff smell test.

Full description

This study would extend the findings of previous studies by characterizing the performance of the 40-item UPSIT in a cohort of first-degree relatives of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The results would also validate the use of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) as a mail-survey instrument. Once identified, these individuals could be followed as a potentially at-risk cohort to determine if the screening evaluation was predictive of later developing Parkinson's disease. The results from this pilot study have the potential to guide the use of olfactory testing using the UPSIT as a screening tool, and to provide necessary preliminary data for planning clinical trials to prevent the occurrence of PD in at-risk individuals.

Enrollment: 600 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subject must be a first-degree relative of a PD patient with diagnosis confirmed by a movement disorders specialist at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders
• Subject must not carry a diagnosis of PD or other neurodegenerative disorder
• Subject must be either at least 50 years old or within 10 years of the age of onset of their affected relative
• Subject must be a non-smoker
• Subject must have no other known reason for abnormal olfaction (e.g. nasal trauma)