CamPaIGN
The CamPaIGN (Cambridgeshire Parkinson’s Incidence from GP to Neurologist) study was set up in the year 2000. This observational cohort study aimed to include every new case of Parkinson’s disease diagnosed in Cambridgeshire over a 2-year period (2000-2002) and to track disease progression in this group of 142 patients over time. It was the first study to take this approach of studying a population-representative, unbiased group with Parkinson’s and describing the evolution of not only movement problems but also cognitive problems over time. This long-running study continues to generate important information about rate of disease progression, and how variable this is, in a typical Parkinson’s population. Participants are followed up every 2 years with detailed clinical and cognitive assessments. To date, the CamPaIGN study has:
- demonstrated that memory and thinking problems are common in Parkinson’s but they are of different types – not all of which are associated with developing dementia;
- helped us to work out the key genetic factors that contribute to memory problems in Parkinson’s;
- showed us how variable the rate of progression is in this disease, and allowed us to identify key factors at diagnosis which predict outcomes 10 years later;
- contributed information to a number of large international studies looking at patterns of disease progression and the genetic basis of this.
This internationally-recognised study has led to many research publications and is helping to pave the way for our ultimate goal of developing more targeted treatment approaches for different groups of patients. We are hugely grateful to all the participants who have been involved in this important study for so many years.
This work has received funding from the Wellcome Trust and the Patrick Berthoud Trust, and is supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.