Researchers at University College London want to understand the proteins that build up in the brains of people with Parkinson’s. This knowledge could help develop more accurate and targeted treatments for people with Parkinson’s in the future. They are looking for both healthy volunteers and people with Parkinson's aged 50 – 80 to take part in their study.

The study aims to use different techniques to understand the protein changes happening in the brain, and link them to the changes we see on MRI brain scans. This could help us to understand the differences between people and their responses to the condition, and could help work out in future whether different treatments might be targeted for different people.

You will be invited to attend for between 2 and 5 visits. These can be spread flexibly over a few months, and we will make sure they are at convenient times for you. The visits will involve several different brain scans (an MRI scan, a high-resolution 7 tesla MRI scan, a MEG scan, which measures the magnetic field of the brain, and 2 different PET scans, which can directly measure proteins that build up. During the visits we will also take a blood sample, and you will complete some thinking and memory tests.

Professor Rimona Weil, leading the study, says “It makes such a difference to have people volunteer to take part in our study. By including people who do not have Parkinson’s, we are able to make useful comparisons of changes in the brain. Together this helps us understand Parkinson’s better.”

We appreciate that these visits amount to quite a commitment, but it’s worth it. Each scan gives a different piece of information to help us to better understand Parkinson’s. We will be able to cover the costs of your travel and lunch, and we hope that you will find the visits interesting.

If you are interested, please contact Naomi Hannaway by email at (preferred) or by phone on 020 3108 9184.

This article is part of Arena Magazine Issue 59 – Christmas 2025.
Arena Magazine is the official online magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in Arena Issue 59 here.

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