Shanghai Parkinson's Study

Background: * Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, affecting more than 1 percent of the elderly population in the United States and other Western countries. Although effective treatments can alleviate symptoms in early PD, no cure or treatment slowing disease progression has been identified, and patients will eventually develop severe physical and mental disabilities and often die of complications. More research is needed on the causes of and appropriate preventive strategies for PD. * The Shanghai Women s Health Study (SWHS) was established 10 years ago by investigators from the Vanderbilt University, the Shanghai Cancer Institute (SCI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the US. Their primary aim was to examine several unique dietary hypotheses on cancer among Chinese women. Researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and SWHS investigators are now interested in studying PD patients from SWHS to evaluate biological and environmental factors that may have put them at risk for PD. Objectives: * To initiate a long-term prospective study on PD in Chinese women from the Shanghai Women s Health Study. * To examine a set of biological and environmental factors that may raise or lower risk of developing PD. Eligibility: \- All participants of the SWHS cohort are eligible. Design: * Researchers will contact self-reported PD cases from the SWHS, confirm (or reject) the self-report, and invite them to a clinical examination at a coordinating hospital in Shanghai. * Cases that confirm the self-report will be invited to visit the coordinating hospital for clinical examinations, including a PD clinical workup, blood and urine collections, a cognitive assessment and relevant neuropsychological testing, and an interview on additional risk factor exposures that are not available from baseline surveys. * For those who could not participate in the clinical examination, researchers will ask for a few