Precision Medicine

Precision medicine is a concept that can transform how Parkinson’s disease (PD) is treated. Precision medicine is an innovative approach to healthcare that uses information about a person’s genetics, environment and lifestyle to guide treatment decisions. In some disease areas like cancer, precision medicine is already a reality. In Parkinson’s, precision medicines are now being tested in clinical trials.

What is precision medicine? 

In Parkinson’s, some clinical trials involve precision medicine, an innovative approach to developing treatments based on a person’s unique characteristics. Precision medicine uses a person’s genes, biology, environment and lifestyle to help identify treatments that will best work for them. 

Instead of treating everyone with Parkinson’s the same way (for instance, a levodopa prescription), researchers can use biomarkers — measurable characteristics in the body — to identify people who share similar traits and may respond to the same treatment.

For Parkinson’s, biomarkers include genetic testing, imaging tests like a DaTscan, or the skin biopsy test. These tests can give you a clearer picture of your Parkinson’s. Researchers are still in the early stages of using biomarkers to diagnose and predict PD progression, but they are the key to developing precision medicine. 

Researchers combine biomarker information with other data to identify groups of people with similar traits. This is called subtyping, and it can help researchers predict which treatments work best for each group — an important step toward more tailored and effective Parkinson’s care.

What role do genetics play in precision medicine and Parkinson’s?

Some changes in certain genes are known to increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s. Others may provide clues about how PD progresses or responds to treatment. 

PD GENEration: Powered by the Parkinson’s Foundation, is helping researchers better understand how genetics can serve as a biomarker for Parkinson’s. Learning more about a person’s genetic connection to Parkinson’s may help researchers develop and test treatments for people with specific genetic changes. Then, instead of treating all patients the same way, researchers can develop and test treatments for people with specific genetic changes. 

An example of an active trial applying precision medicine is NEULARK, which is for people with certain changes in the LRRK2 gene who are not taking dopamine replacement therapies like levodopa. The study is testing a treatment designed to reduce overactive LRRK2 activity. 

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Genetic testing is an important step toward developing more targeted treatments for Parkinson’s.

Is precision medicine available now? Can my doctor use it as my treatment plan?

Not yet. Precision medicine for Parkinson’s is still being developed. While researchers have identified some Parkinson’s biomarkers, we don’t have enough biomarker tests or data to reliably group people based on their unique traits and predict which treatments will work best for them.

However, the PD research is picking up speed. The Parkinson’s Foundation works with and funds researchers to find better biomarkers and improve access to precision medicine clinical trials. Some trials are already testing treatments targeted to specific genetic variants. 

How would precision medicine help people with Parkinson’s in the future?

In the future, a neurologist could identify the combination of traits that are unique to your Parkinson’s through biomarkers. For instance, diagnostic tests would identify that you have a specific genetic variant and specific clinical symptoms such as tremor and a sleep disorder. 

With this information, doctors could identify which group a person’s Parkinson’s most closely matches and determine which treatments are most likely to help. This could move Parkinson’s care beyond a one-size-fits-all approach toward more targeted treatments based on each person’s unique characteristics.

Is precision medicine used for other diseases or health conditions? 

Yes. Precision medicine is already being used in some areas of health care, including cancer.

The American Cancer Society highlights that doctors can use biomarker information from biopsies, genetic tests and other tests to better understand the cancer and guide treatment decisions.

For example, testing can identify changes in certain genes or proteins in cancer cells that may help doctors determine which treatments are more likely to work. Precision medicine can also help identify people at higher risk for certain cancers, detect some cancers earlier and monitor how well a treatment is working.

Cancer research offers an example of how precision medicine could eventually help advance more targeted treatments for Parkinson’s.

Is precision medicine the same as personalized medicine? 

No. Most people with PD should already receive personalized medicine or individualized care from their neurologist. In personalized medicine, a doctor assesses your unique symptoms and lifestyle and then recommends a customized treatment plan that may include medication, exercise and rehabilitative therapies. 

Of note, some health care professionals may use the terms personalized and precision medicine interchangeably. 

Precision medicine takes this a few steps further. It looks at the bigger picture of your symptoms and biomarker test results, then uses data to predict which treatment you will respond best to, based on your unique set of traits. 

Can precision medicine speed up clinical trials and PD research?

Definitely. Clinical trials are research studies that test new PD treatments. It takes a long time to test new treatments because Parkinson’s is an incredibly varied disease. Meaning everyone experiences a different rate of progression, varied symptoms, some have a genetic link, and so on. This makes it difficult to design and fill clinical trials and can lead to inconclusive results. 

However, if clinical trials use precision medicine, we could see results faster. 

Precision medicine clinical trials use advanced testing up front — like the PD GENEration genetic test — to identify people with common traits. Instead of treating all participants the same way, these trials group and test treatments in people based on specific common characteristics — such as their genetic profile.

How can I help make precision medicine a reality for people with Parkinson’s? 

The Parkinson’s Foundation is actively working to make precision medicine an option for the near future of PD care. Here are some ways you can help:  

1. Learn more about PD GENEration. Our genetics study that offers genetic counseling at no cost to people with a PD diagnosis. If you have already participated in PD GENEration, explore our PD Trial Navigator program. 
2. Join a study. Explore ongoing PD studies now.  
3. Tell Congress to protect medical research. Use our Advocacy Center to ask your members of Congress to protect stable, predictable and science-based medical research. 
4. Our research grant program funds exciting new biomarker studies for doctors and scientists around the world. We are funding several of these studies right now. Donate to help us support more researchers.