Dulcie Finds Hope in the Canadian Open Parkinson Network

Photo of Dulcie Webb

Dulcie Webb is a Calgarian at heart but has lived in Cochrane for nearly 40 years. A mother of two and a grandmother of one, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2016 by her family doctor. It took an additional year to receive a diagnosis from a neurologist in 2017.

When approached to participate in the Canadian Open Parkinson Network (C-OPN), she gladly accepted the opportunity, hoping that her participation will allow researchers to use her Parkinson’s to find new treatments. The Canadian Open Parkinson Network is an initiative that spans from coast to coast, bringing together the country’s best minds in Parkinson’s research to share data in hopes of accelerating better treatments, and eventually a cure.

Watch the full interview with Dulcie to learn more about her Parkinson’s journey and her participation in C-OPN, which she describes as a very positive experience. As she shared with our interviewer in her own words: “my participation made me feel more positive about my Parkinson’s”.

Editor’s Note: The following interview was filmed in February 2020, prior to COVID-19 restrictions.

Looking to learn more about C-OPN or get involved in the patient registry? Visit: https://copn-rpco.ca/

About the Canadian Open Parkinson Network

C-OPN has been made possible by Parkinson Canada and Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund, with the financial support of Health Canada.

Phase one of C-OPN brings together many of Canada’s best in Parkinson’s research with eight sites initially taking part in four provinces, giving investigators access to unprecedented data and facilitating collaboration between patients and the research community around a shared goal: better treatments for Parkinson’s today and a world without Parkinson’s tomorrow.

This collaboration and investment enables the creation of three distinct infrastructures:

  1. National Patient Registry: linking potential research participants to scientists across Canada conducting research studies and clinical trials
  2. De-identified Database: capturing demographic, medical, and cognitive patient information over time as well as brain imaging data to support cutting edge scientific investigations
  3. Biobank: collecting biological specimen (eg. blood) and storing them in a research biobank to enable genetic and other scientific analyses

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