The Framingham Parkinson’s Disease Epidemiology study has tracked incident cases of Parkinson’s disease across all Framingham cohorts. Those found to identify Parkinson’s disease by self-report or by medical history update are brought to a diagnostic consensus meeting to determine if Parkinson’s disease or a related disorder is evident. PD review is the process used at FHS to adjudicate diagnoses of Parkinsonism and PD cases. A list of participants flagged for possibly having signs of PD or parkinsonism is generated and participants for review are identified. For each participant, a PD Review Case Summary (PDRCS), a summary of what is known about a participant, is prepared by a trained research assistant, including relevant medical history, education, and exam results. The summary is compiled using several FHS and external sources of information. The PDRCS is brought to a PD Review meeting, which includes an adjudication panel with movement disorder neurologists present. The panel evaluates each PDRCS to identify whether there is evidence of PD. Medical history and family history are also recorded. During the PD Review meeting, the PD Review data is entered directly into a REDCap project database. The neurologists in attendance view the data entry to ensure accuracy.
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