Are you or someone you know living with a neurological condition?

The LINC Study is a national study to learn about Canadians living with a neurological condition and the impact on their everyday lives.

The study has 3 parts:

• a snapshot in time: an in-depth survey of 3500 people living in Canada
• a year in the life of 350 Canadians: a series of monthly conversations
• individual stories: a study of 18 people, their families and supporters

Participants must live in Canada and be:

• 17 or older and living with a neurological condition OR
• a parent of a child (5-16 years) with a neurological condition

LINC is being conducted by a team of researchers from Dalhousie University, Queen’s University, the University of Manitoba, Memorial University and the University of Prince Edward Island, as part of the National Population Health Study of Neurological Conditions.

For more information, please e-mail thelincstudy@dal.ca or call (902) 494-1699 or 1-855-462-6828 (toll-free).

Are there multiple incidences of Parkinson’s disease in your family?

Approximately 14% of people with Parkinson’s disease have a family history of the condition, with one or more of their relatives also being affected. In multi-incident families – those with two or more affected family members – Parkinson’s appears more commonly than in the general population. This higher frequency of disease may be due to a shared genetic susceptibility among blood-relatives.

At the Centre for Applied Neurogenetics (CAN) located at the University of British Columbia, researchers are working, together with an international network of neurologists and researchers, to characterize the Parkinson’s Genome, focusing on family genetics and population genetics. They are applying the latest technologies in human genetics to find the specific gene(s) responsible for Parkinson’s disease.

The success of this research hinges on acquiring enough samples from families where multiple people have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease or a related form of neurodegeneration, such as forms of Parkinsonism, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Corticobasal Ganglionic Degeneration CBD, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

If you and your family are interested in being involved in this research, you will be asked for some clinical information on diagnoses and a small blood sample (2 teaspoons) for genetic analysis. All data are de-identified to ensure participant confidentiality.

For more information, please e-mail about@can.ubc.ca. You are also invited to visit the website, http://www.can.ubc.ca/.