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BACKGROUND:Anti-inflammatory drug use, particularly ibuprofen, has been associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease. Microglial activation and inflammatory cytokine expression have been shown to be pathological features of progressive supranuclear palsy. We examined the association between NSAID use and risk of PSP, disease severity and age at onset. METHODS:The ENGENE-PSP multicenter case-control study recruited incident PSP cases who met the NINDS-PSP Society diagnostic criteria and age-, sex- and race-matched controls primarily from the same geographical areas. All subjects underwent standardized interviews to obtain data on demographics, residential history, medication history and lifetime occupational history. NSAID use was specifically queried by telephone interview using a standardized questionnaire. RESULTS:Information was obtained on anti-inflammatory drug exposure in 276 cases and 278 controls. No association was found between NSAID exposure and risk of PSP, age at onset or rate of change of UPDRS motor subscale, PSP Rating Scale or Mattis Dementia Rating Scale scores. This lack of association persisted when NSAID exposure was measured considering any NSAIDs, ibuprofen only, ASA only or non-ibuprofen, non-aspirin NSAIDs. CONCLUSIONS:These results do not suggest an important association between NSAID use and PSP occurrence or expression. Despite the large size of our study, confidence intervals were wide. To rule out small associations, very large sample sizes will be required.

BackgroundClinical research in Parkinson's disease (PD) faces practical and ethical challenges due to two interrelated problems: participant under-recruitment and lack of diversity. Fox Insight (FI) is a web-based longitudinal study collecting patient-reported outcomes and genetic data worldwide to inform therapeutic studies. FI's online platform provides an opportunity to evaluate online strategies for recruiting large, diverse research cohorts.ObjectiveThis project aimed to determine 1) whether FI's digital marketing was associated with increased enrollment overall and from under-represented patient groups, compared to traditional recruitment methods; 2) the clinical and demographic characteristics of samples recruited online, and 3) the cost of this online recruitment.MethodFI recruitment during a 6-week baseline period without digital promotion was compared to recruitment during several periods of digital outreach. Separate online recruiting intervals included general online study promotion and unique Facebook and Google ad campaigns targeting under-represented subgroups: early PD, late/advanced PD, and residents of underrepresented/rural geographic areas.ResultsEarly PD, late PD, and geotargeting campaigns enrolled more individuals in their respective cohorts compared to baseline. All online campaigns also yielded greater total FI enrollment, attracting more participants who were non-White, Hispanic, older, female, and had lower educational attainment and income, and more medical comorbidities. Cost per new participant ranged from $21 (Facebook) to $108 (Google).ConclusionDigital marketing may allow researchers to increase, accelerate, and diversify recruitment for PD clinical studies, by tailoring digital ads to target PD cohort characteristics.

BackgroundOnline tools for data collection could be of value in patient-oriented research. The Fox Insight (FI) study collects data online from individuals with self-reported Parkinson's disease (PD). Comparing the FI cohort to other cohorts assessed through more traditional (in-person) observational research studies would inform the representativeness and utility of FI data.ObjectiveTo compare self-reported demographic characteristics, symptoms, medical history, and PD medication use of the FI PD cohort to other recent observational research study cohorts assessed with in-person visits.MethodsThe FI PD cohort (n = 12,654) was compared to 3 other cohorts, selected based on data accessibility and breadth of assessments: Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI; PD n = 422), Parkinson's Disease Biomarker Program (PDBP; n = 700), and PD participants in the LRRK2 consortium without LRRK2 mutations (n = 508). Demographics, motor and non-motor assessments, and medications were compared across cohorts. Where available, identical items on surveys and assessments were compared; otherwise, expert opinion was used to determine comparable definitions for a given variable.ResultsThe proportion of females was significantly higher in FI (45.56%) compared to PPMI (34.36%) and PDBP (35.71%). The FI cohort had greater educational attainment as compared to all other cohorts. Overall, prevalence of difficulties with motor experiences of daily living and non-motor symptoms in the FI cohort was similar to other cohorts, with only a few significant differences that were generally small in magnitude. Missing data were rare for the FI cohort, except on a few variables.DiscussionPatterns of responses to patient-reported assessments obtained online on the PD cohort of the FI study were similar to PD cohorts assessed in-person.

BackgroundThe penetrance of leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) mutations is incomplete and may be influenced by environmental and/or other genetic factors. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are known to reduce inflammation and may lower Parkinson's disease (PD) risk, but their role in LRRK2-associated PD is unknown.ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to evaluate the association of regular NSAID use and LRRK2-associated PD.MethodsSymptomatic ("LRRK2-PD") and asymptomatic ("LRRK2-non-PD") participants with LRRK2 G2019S, R1441X, or I2020T variants (definitely pathogenic variant carriers) or G2385R or R1628P variants (risk variant carriers) from 2 international cohorts provided information on regular ibuprofen and/or aspirin use (≥2 pills/week for ≥6 months) prior to the index date (diagnosis date for PD, interview date for non-PD). Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between regular NSAID use and PD for any NSAID, separately for ibuprofen and aspirin in all carriers and separately in pathogenic and risk variant groups.ResultsA total of 259 LRRK2-PD and 318 LRRK2-non-PD participants were enrolled. Regular NSAID use was associated with reduced odds of PD in the overall cohort (odds ratio [OR], 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21-0.57) and in both pathogenic and risk variant carriers (ORPathogenic , 0.38; 95% CI, 0.21-0.67 and ORRiskVariant , 0.19; 95% CI, 0.04-0.99). Similar associations were observed for ibuprofen and aspirin separately (ORIbuprofen , 0.19; 95% CI, 0.07-0.50 and ORAspirin , 0.51; 95% CI, 0.28-0.91).ConclusionsRegular NSAID use may be associated with reduced penetrance in LRRK2-associated PD. The LRRK2 protein is involved in inflammatory pathways and appears to be modulated by regular anti-inflammatory use. Longitudinal observational and interventional studies of NSAID exposure and LRRK2-PD are needed to confirm this association. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.