April 1 marks the beginning of Parkinson’s Awareness Month and we’re proud to be starting the month by representing Canada at this year’s AD/PD™ 2025 International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases. This annual meeting brings together world-leading medical and scientific professionals to discuss the latest research and treatments of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other related neurodegenerative diseases. 

Day one 

The first day featured a busy schedule where we heard about exciting new research on many topics. This included ongoing studies on better understanding alpha-synuclein. This protein is understood to be a key driver of Parkinson’s, as it can misfold and build up in the brain, damaging the dopaminergic neurons that are critical to motor function. Significant preclinical work into both uncovering the biology behind Parkinson’s, how alpha-synuclein functions, and in developing treatments, relies on mouse research. However, there are currently questions about whether or not alpha-synuclein in mice behaves the same way as it does in humans. Researchers have found that there are potentially key differences between how the different alpha-synuclein fibrils spread through the brains of both humans and mice. This supports the need to better understand the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s and ensure research is being done with models that more accurately reflect the way it progresses in humans to help us on our search for more effective treatments. 

We also learned about smell dysfunction (referred to clinically as hyposmia), and new research showing that it is strongly associated with Parkinson’s. The mechanisms behind this association vary but includes changes in dopamine metabolism, and damage to parts of the brain associated with smell by alpha-synuclein and tau protein clumps. There’s substantial research coming from Canada on this topic, including work by Dr. Michael Schlossmacher’s lab. This research includes looking for a better understanding of the mechanisms, and developing diagnostic tools based on smell that can help identify Parkinson’s early. 

Dr. Schlossmacher is a professor of neurology at the University of Ottawa and Co-Director of the Parkinson’s Research Consortium. He is also one of several Parkinson Canada-funded researchers in attendance who is presenting their work during the conference this year, and we’re thrilled to see so much Canadian representation. Angelica Asis, Vice President of Research at Parkinson Canada, was also able to meet with Dr. Margaux Teil from McGill University today, and we’ll be publishing their interview separately. Dr. Teil is a Parkinson Canada-funded researcher doing important work on marmoset models of Parkinson’s to accelerate the transition of therapies from preclinical to clinical testing. Marmoset biology is more closely related to humans than mice, and so further developing these models can help address the potential issues inherent to mouse models as described earlier. 

Some positive clinical treatment news was also shared on the first day. There are currently a range of treatments in various stages of clinical trials for Parkinson’s, and we heard hopeful updates about a nitrase-based antibody therapeutic. Researchers have developed an antibody, targeting nitrated alpha-synuclein, and their preclinical research has shown that it consistently reduces the aggregation and spread of alpha-synuclein in their animal models. With these positive findings in hand, they are moving onto human studies and progressing into more advanced clinical trials.

Day two 

One the second day, Dr. Juan Li from the Schlossmacher Lab at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute provided an update on PREDIGT. This is the Parkinson’s prediction model based on research partly funded by Parkinson Canada, which uses a newly developed simple smell test and questionnaire to predict a Parkinson’s diagnosis and provide an avenue for early intervention. 

The second day also featured numerous poster sessions, where we learned about the important interplay between non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s, new interventions for cognitive impairment that use digital apps, and studies that will evaluate evidence-based tools and supports for care providers. Several posters discussed the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s, including new insights into alpha-synuclein protein modification and affected brain regions that are implicated in symptom severity and progression. This research is bringing us closer to a valid Parkinson’s biomarker. 

Biomarkers are essentially a measurable level of a substance or detectable change within the body that indicates the presence of a biological process, including neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. This work is incredibly important, as the field has not yet found a reliable biomarker to use to help us quantify the presence or progression of Parkinson’s. Having a valid biomarker will accelerate science. It will allow researchers to more accurately study Parkinson’s progression by tracking biomarker spread over time at different stages, measure the impact of treatments by seeing how biomarker levels change while using a therapeutic, and better understanding Parkinson’s biology by identifying where and how biomarkers are accumulating, and which bodily processes are more strongly implicated. 

As we wait for biomarkers that will lead to new endpoints for clinical trials, it was interesting to learn about a patient-reported outcome being developed with direct input from people with lived experience and clinicians to better understand what it’s like to live with early-stage Parkinson’s. This work tracked the signs, symptoms, or events that prompted them to consult a neurologist or seek treatment for the first time, and signs of disease progression in the early stages. This information allows researchers to more directly focus on aspects of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale that will best demonstrate efficacy of therapies in early Parkinson’s from a more patient-reported perspective. 

With just two days behind us, we’ve already learned about a great deal of important work taking place across the field, and we’re excited to see what the next few days hold.