Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common degenerative disease characterized by bradykinesia, resting tremor and rigidity. Although PD is more common in the older population, some patients experience onset before the age of 50, in which case the disease is known as early-onset PD (EOPD). Depending on the age of onset, EOPD can be further subdivided into juvenile PD (JPD) and young-onset PD (YOPD). EOPD accounts for about 10% of the PD population. Compared to late-onset PD (LOPD), EOPD has an early onset age, a long course of disease, relatively atypical clinical symptoms, and is prone to be misdiagnosed. Genetic studies revealed that an earlier age of onset is associated with a higher probability of carrying PD disease-causing gene mutations, suggesting that genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of EOPD. There are an estimated 200,000 EOPD patients in China, and the vast majority of EOPD patients do not receive early diagnosis, treatment, or professional genetic counseling.

The China Early-Onset Parkinson's Disease Registry (CEOPDR) study, registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03508960), is a multicenter, national EOPD cohort study initiated by Xiangya Hospital, Central South University. The CEOPDR will provide a user-friendly and encrypted registration platform for authorized persons. The registry includes demographic information, clinical characteristics, environmental factors, family history, brain imaging, genomics, treatment, and neuropsychological assessment. The CEOPDR focuses on EOPD epidemiology, genetic factors, environmental factors, clinical phonotypes (motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, motor complications, etc.), natural history of disease, imaging, genomics, etc. Its aim is to provide patients with EOPD and their families with a professional consultation and patient registration platform, and also to provide a research and cooperation platform for PD researchers as China's EOPD clinical research platform and resource base.

Xiangya Hospital was founded in 1906 and is a Class-A, Grade-3 (top level in China) hospital under the direct control of the National Health Commission. It is affiliated to Central South University which is under the direct control of the Ministry of Education. Xiangya Hospital is an important center of clinical diagnosis and treatment, medical education, and scientific and technological innovation. In the early 20th century, Yale alumni created the Yale-China Association. In 1906, American medical doctor Edward H. Hume (1876-1957) was appointed to China by the Yale-China Association and founded Yale Hospital in Xipailou Street, Changsha. In 1914, entrusted by the Hunan provincial government, the Yuqun Society collaborated with the Yale-China Association to set up Xiangya Medical School—the first higher medical education institution that was cofounded by China and the United States. Yale Hospital was renamed “Xiangya Hospital.” “Xiang” is the abbreviation of Hunan Province and “ya” is a transliteration of Yale.

The Subspecialty of Neurodegeneration and Genetic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, is mainly engaged in clinical and basic research of neurodegeneration and genetic diseases such as PD, Alzheimer's disease (AD), Essential tremor (ET), Motor neuron disease (MND), Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, Hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG), Meuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID), and Huntington's disease (HD). Academic leaders and PI: Prof. Beisha Tang, Prof. Zhuohua Zhang, Prof. Xinxiang Yan, Prof. Lu Shen, Prof. Hong Jiang, Prof. Zhiquan Yang, Prof. Weihua Liao, Prof. Shuo Hu, Associate Prof. Jifeng Guo, Associate Prof. Junling Wang, Prof. Kai Yuan, Prof. Jian Qiu, Prof. Zhonghua Hu, Prof. Jinchen Li, etc.