17 December 2024: The Journal of Parkinson's Disease is proud to announce the two articles that have won this year's Parkinson Prize, recognizing these outstanding contributions to the advancement to Parkinson's disease (PD) research. Recipients of the award are Rong Xue and Xuang Zhang (Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University, China) for best basic research article, and Anette Schrag (Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK) for best clinical research article. The winning papers are:
Neurofilament Light Protein Predicts Disease Progression in Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder by Zhang, Xuan; Ma, Li; Liang, Danqi; Song, Bingxin; Chen, Jingshan; Huang, Yaqin; Xu, Lin; Zhao, Peng; Wu, Wei; Zhang, Nan; Xue, Rong
1
Outcome Measures for Disease-Modifying Trials in Parkinson's Disease: Consensus Paper by the EJS ACT-PD Multi-Arm Multi-Stage Trial Initiative
by Gonzalez-Robles, Cristina; Weil, Rimona S.; van Wamelen, Daniel; Bartlett, Michele; Burnell, Matthew; Clarke, Caroline S.; Hu, Michele T.; Huxford, Brook; Jha, Ashwani; Lambert, Christian; Lawton, Michael; Mills, Georgia; Noyce, Alastair; Piccini, Paola; Pushparatnam, Kuhan; Rochester, Lynn; Siu, Carroll; Williams-Gray, Caroline H.; Zeissler, Marie-Louise; Zetterberg, Henrik; Carroll, Camille B.; Foltynie, Thomas; Schrag, Anette
2
These papers were selected by the Associate Editors of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease's from the 2023 volume. Awardees will receive a cash award of $1000 (per article). The Parkinson Prize is as an annual award.
“Together with the Associate Editors of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, we congratulate the authors of the winning papers. We are pleased to have the opportunity to publish these important contributions to the field, and we look forward to more high-quality submissions to the Journal of Parkinson's Disease in the upcoming year,” state Editors-in-Chief Bastiaan Bloem, MD, PhD, FRCPE, and Lorraine Kalia, MD, PhD, FRCPC.
THE 2024 PARKINSON PRIZE RECIPIENTS
Basic Science Winner: Neurofilament Light Protein Predicts Disease Progression in Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
Importance of the work: Idiopathic Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is not merely a parasomnia but also precedes the development of synucleinopathies. An easily accessible biomarker that can identify iRBD with a high risk of rapid phenoconversion is needed to improve the prediction of individual disease progression. This study showed that plasma NfL served as a valuable biomarker in identifying iRBD with high risk of conversion in a short time, and reflecting disease severity of PDRBD, and predicting cognitive, motor, autonomic function progression and phenoconversion in iRBD. Thus, plasma NfL detected by the Simoa technique might assist clinicians in assessing disease severity in PDRBD and identifying patients with iRBD at high risk of rapid disease progression.
Dr Rong Xue states: “We are very proud to receive this prestigious award, and we would like to express our sincere appreciation to the editorial team at the Journal of Parkinson's Disease. This work was a truly demonstration of dedicated work and group collaboration, and special thanks go to the patients and healthy volunteers for participating in this study, and the members of the Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Airport Hospital, for their support.”
Rong Xue: Dr Xue is a Chief Physician in Neurology at the Tianjin Medical University General Hospital. Her research interests focus on insomnia, sleep-related breathing disorders, RBD, particularly in the biomarkers that can identify iRBD with a high risk of rapid phenoconversion to neurogenerative diseases. She was PI of several research grants at the national and provincial level. She has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and 3 edited books. She has won four prizes for the introduction of new technologies to fill the gaps in the Tianjin health system and two Third Prizes for scientific and technological progress in Tianjin. She currently serve as the Deputy Director of the Sub-Committee of Neurology within the Chinese Medical Association, and a Council Member of the Chinese Sleep Research Society.
Xuan Zhang: Dr Zhang is an Attending Physician in Neurology at the Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Airport Hospital. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders and related diseases, and her main research interests include rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and neurodegenerative diseases. She has published over 10 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Journal of Parkinson's Disease, SLEEP, Sleep Medicine, etc. She currently serves as the Council Member of Tianjin Sleep Research Society, Member of the Youth Working Committee in Tianjin Sleep Research Society, Executive Member of Youth Working Committee in Chinese Sleep Research Society.
Clinical Science Winner: Outcome Measures for Disease-Modifying Trials in Parkinson's Disease: Consensus Paper by the EJS ACT-PD Multi-Arm Multi-Stage Trial Initiative
Importance of the work: This work was undertaken to provide the basis for a large platform trial to test potential neuroprotective treatments for Parkinson's disease, the UK-wide Edmond J Safra ACT-PD initiative, and the hope is that the framework provided will support the design and selection of outcome measures across clinical trials in Parkinson's disease worldwide, with updates according to emerging evidence and assessment criteria.
Dr Anette Schrag states: “
I am so delighted to have received this prize on behalf of my co-authors for our work on outcome measures in Parkinson's disease research. Many experts in the field, with input from our PPIE group, have contributed to this, particularly our PhD student Cristina Gonzalez who brought it all together.”
Anette Schrag: Professor Schrag is a neurologist and clinical researcher at the UCL Institute of Neurology Queen Square in London. Originally, she trained at the University Hospital in Berlin and then undertook her PhD at the UCL Institute of Neurology in London. Her research over the last 20 years has been focused on clinical presentations and outcomes in Parkinson's disease, including a long-standing interest in clinical outcome measures and trial methodology. She conducts clinical trials of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, designs and develops new assessments methods, and studies the mechanisms underlying both motor and non-motor (including psychiatric and cognitive) symptoms of Parkinson's, with the aim of improving symptom control and, ultimately, limiting the onset, progression and impact of the disease.
BEST BASIC RESEARCH PAPER RUNNERS UP (IN RANDOM ORDER)
Pesticides and the Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis: Convergent Pathways in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson's Disease, by Kulcsarova, Kristina; Bang, Corinna; Berg, Daniela; Schaeffer, Eva
3
miR-101a-3p Impairs Synaptic Plasticity and Contributes to Synucleinopathy, by Xylaki, Mary; Paiva, Isabel; Al-Azzani, Mohammed; Gerhardt, Ellen; Jain, Gaurav; Islam, Md Rezaul; Vasili, Eftychia; Wassouf, Zinah; Schulze-Hentrich, Julia M.; Fischer, Andre; Outeiro, Tiago Fleming
4
DNA Methylation Signature of Aging: Potential Impact on the Pathogenesis of Parkinson's Disease Astrocytes and Alpha-Synuclein: Friend or Foe?, by Yazar, Volkan; Dawson, Valina L.; Dawson, Ted M.; Kang, Sung-Ung
5
Astrocytes and Alpha-Synuclein: Friend or Foe?, by Ozoran, Hakan; Srinivasan, Rahul
6
BEST CLINICAL RESEARCH PAPER RUNNERS UP (IN RANDOM ORDER)
Pharmacological Treatment of Tremor in Parkinson's Disease Revisited, by Pirker, Walter; Katzenschlager, Regina; Hallett, Mark; Poewe, Werner
7
Parkinsonian Hand or Clinician's Eye? Finger Tap Bradykinesia Interrater Reliability for 21 Movement Disorder Experts, by Williams, Stefan; Wong, David; Alty, Jane E.; Relton, Samuel D.
8
Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative: A Milestone-Based Strategy to Monitor Parkinson's Disease Progression, by Brumm, Michael C.; Siderowf, Andrew; Simuni, Tanya; Burghardt, Elliot; Choi, Seung Ho; Caspell-Garcia, Chelsea; Chahine, Lana M.; Mollenhauer, Brit; Foroud, Tatiana; Galasko, Douglas; Merchant, Kalpana; Arnedo, Vanessa; Hutten, Samantha J.; O'Grady, Alyssa N.; Poston, Kathleen L.; Tanner, Caroline M.; Weintraub, Daniel; Kieburtz, Karl; Marek, Kenneth; Coffey, Christopher S.
9
Hopamine as Personalized Medicine for Persons with Parkinson's Disease, by Noordegraaf, Marina A.; van den Berg, Sanne W.; Bloem, Bastiaan R.
10
