The NS-PARK/F-CRIN network is a multidisciplinary research network of excellence bringing together neurologists and researchers specialized in Parkinson's disease and movement disorders throughout France. It actually gathers 27 academic centers including the 25 Parkinson Expert Centers accredited by the French Ministry of Health. Its strong recruitment capabilities, the training of its teams and the association of some of its centers with clinical investigation centers guarantee the quality of studies conducted in the network.
Our History
The NS-PARK network comes from the 2013 merger of three previously existing national research networks: the Neurosciences network of clinical investigation centers, the Parkinson's disease genetics network (PDG network) and the France Stim network dedicated to deep brain stimulation. This merger has made it possible to bring together French collective expertise in the various fields of research on the disease.
Since 2014, the NS-PARK network has been labeled and funded by the national clinical research infrastructure FCRIN, which has allowed it to expand its scope of expertise and activities.
Initially, the activity of the NS-PARK network was mainly focused on conducting clinical trials. In recent years, the network has invested in studies aimed at identifying and testing new therapeutic targets and potential new drugs, as well as in studies to evaluate drugs already marketed in new indications concerning Parkinson's disease and abnormal movements. The studies conducted within the network cover neuroprotection, motor symptoms, motor complications and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, genetics, but also other Parkinson's syndromes such as multisystem atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The particularly rich scientific activity of the NS-PARK network demonstrates its dynamics and its importance for national and international research.
At present, one of the major challenges is to gain a better understanding of the links between the disease progression profile and the underlying biological mechanisms, as this will make it possible to develop targeted therapeutic strategies according to the patient's profile and thus move towards personalized medicine.With this in mind, the NS-PARK network has devoted a great deal of energy in recent years to the development of the national NS-PARK cohort, which is common to all the centers in the network, thanks to the financial support of F-CRIN and the Neurodegenerative Disease Plan (Ministry of Health). This cohort has no equivalent and will be a formidable research tool in the years to come!
Our scientifics objectives
- Provide a better pathophysiological understanding of Parkinson's disease
- Develop new therapies and management for the disease
- Continue to develop the NS-PARK cohort, with the collection of clinical, biological and imaging data
- Move towards personalized medicine, based on the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms
Our missions
Our governance
The governance of the NS-PARK network is ensured by an executive board whose mission is to define the strategic orientations and scientific objectives of the NS-PARK network. It represents the network to its supervisory institutions and promotes the network at the national and international level to academic and industrial partners. The executive board is assisted in its missions by an operational team composed of 3 project managers. This coordination unit, composed of the executive board and the operational team, is the single contact point of the NS-PARK network. Two project managers reinforce the team to ensure all operational missions related to the cohort.
The NS-PARK network has also set up a Steering Committee including the executive board and a representative from each of NS-PARK centers. This committee is involved in the selection process, assistance and follow-up of the projects supported and carried out within the network.
