International researchers are launching the Slow SPEED clinical trials to test whether remote exercise can prevent Parkinson's

International researchers have launched a series of clinical trials named Slow SPEED to investigate whether home based exercise can delay or prevent the onset of Parkinson's. Published in the journal npj Parkinson's Disease, the paper outlines the first worldwide effort to test a non drug prevention programme for people who show early signs of potentially developing the condition. The project spans three countries and focuses on different groups of people who are considered at a higher risk before any major movement issues appear. Unified Global Trials Instead of splitting the information across separate sections, the study is structured around three distinct, localised trials. Each trial targets a specific early warning sign during the prodromal phase, which is the period when early signs of the condition are present but a formal diagnosis has not been made. In the United Kingdom, researchers from Queen Mary University of London, the University of Bristol, and Plymouth University are leading the trial. They aim to study 110 participants who have hyposmia, which is a significantly reduced sense of smell. To take part, British participants must be at least forty years old and have a lower baseline of daily activity, typically averaging fewer than 7,000 steps per day. In the Netherlands, the study is spearheaded by the Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen. The Dutch team is tracking 110 participants who are over fifty years of age and live with REM sleep behaviour disorder, a specific sleep issue where people physically act out their dreams. In the United States, researchers are collaborating with genetic testing initiatives like the 23andMe research community. The American arm of the study is the largest, aiming to recruit 600 participants who carry specific genetic changes, specifically variations in the LRRK2 or GBA1 genes, which are linked to a higher risk of developing the condition. Smart Tracking and Gamified Targets The trial is designed to be completely remote, meaning participants do not need to make frequent hospital visits to take part in the exercise programme. Instead, they use a smartphone application linked directly to a wearable activity tracker to monitor their daily movement from home. Participants are split into two groups to compare different activity levels. The main intervention group is given a challenging target to increase their daily steps by up to 100 percent over their normal baseline, built up gradually with weekly increases. The control group is given a much lower target of a 10 percent increase. To keep the motivation high and the routine engaging, the smartphone app uses gamified features, progress visualisations, and gentle digital rewards. Current Recruitment Status Recruitment for the Slow SPEED trials is actively ongoing across all three participating regions. Because the study focuses entirely on prevention, the teams are exclusively searching for people who do not have a Parkinson's diagnosis but meet the specific risk criteria for their country. Potential participants undergo initial telephone pre screening and basic tests before entering a four week home monitoring period to confirm their eligibility. Moving Towards Prevention Rather than testing a new medicine, the main goal of Slow SPEED is to prove whether a digitally supported, home based exercise programme is safe, practical, and easy for people to stick to over a long period. At the same time, scientists will collect blood samples and even optional skin biopsies to look for biological markers that might show if the increased physical activity is helping to protect brain cells. If these initial trials prove successful, they will provide the essential blueprint needed to launch massive, international prevention studies. Ultimately, the hope is to establish exercise as a scalable, accessible tool to help protect the brain long before the typical motor symptoms of the condition can ever take hold.