AFRABIA-PD-GENOMIC CONSORTIUM (AAPDGC)

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What gives us hope?

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The Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) has an AfrAbian initiative named the AfrAbia-PD-Genomic Consortium to better investigate Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders in AfrAbian population (AAPDGC). This Consortium is a collaboration between GP2 and academic institutions in five African countries: Ghana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Algeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The long-term objective of the AfrAbia consortium is to build an intracontinental network that will allow the recruitment and registration of 3,000 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 3,000 healthy controls throughout AfrAbia, as well as the construction of a registry for future cooperative research. The emphasis will be on identifying genetic factors to Parkinson’s disease and exploring the relationship between risk genes and disease parameters (such as disease subtypes, age of onset, and motor and nonmotor symptoms). The ultimate objective of the AfrAbia collaboration is to investigate innovative techniques for diagnosis and therapy, including GWAS and precision medicine, for the AfrAbian Parkinson’s disease population.
The partnership will assist its AfrAbia outposts in increasing their skills via training and education. Moreover, the research network is partnering with regional communities and patient advocacy groups to improve awareness of Parkinson’s disease. Our initial aim is to develop culturally relevant educational materials in commonly spoken AfrAbia languages for both patients and caregivers, with the goal of eliminating stigma and improving health outcomes. We hope that the formation of the AfrAbia consortium will improve the efficiency of medical research and boost patients’ health. Our basic philosophy is one of close collaboration, and we will aim to ensure that all AfrAbian researchers have equal chances and access to resources, as well as patient and public engagement.