Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and the most common movement disorder disease. Epidemiological survey data in China shows that the number of patients with Parkinson's disease exceeded 5 million in 2021. Currently, China has the largest patient population with PD, and its incidence rate is also higher than the global average.

April 11th is the 29th "World Parkinson's Disease Day". The "China Parkinson's Disease Report 2025", jointly compiled by experts and scholars from many authoritative institutions such as Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (taking the lead in the organization), School of Public Health of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Public Health of Fudan University, Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, and The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, was officially released. The full text of the report was published in the Journal of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation. 

Wang Gang, Director of the Department of Neurology at Renji Hospital, introduced that based on data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and the study on the disease burden of Parkinson's disease in China and its provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and special administrative regions (excluding Taiwan Province of China) from 1990 to 2021, the "China Parkinson's Disease Report 2025" calculated and reported data related to the disease burden of Parkinson's disease patients in China. The research shows that the number of existing Parkinson's disease patients in China exceeds 5 million. Compared with the global figures, the number of new cases of Parkinson's disease in China accounts for about 38.08% of the global number of new cases, the number of patients accounts for about 43.14% of the global number of patients, and the number of deaths caused by Parkinson's disease accounts for about 23.71% of the global number of deaths caused by PD.

It is worth noting that over the past 30 years, the disease burden indicators related to Parkinson's disease in China, including the incidence rate, prevalence rate, and mortality rate, have generally shown a rapid upward trend. Among them, the increase in each disease burden indicator for men is higher than that for women, and the gender gap is continuously expanding. "The base of the PD patient population in China is large, and the incidence rate is higher than the global average. However, the current number of patients seeking medical treatment is relatively small, and some patients have not received corresponding medical interventions. It is urgent to establish a whole-process hierarchical management system for Parkinson's disease and movement disorder diseases and promote standardized diagnosis and treatment," emphasized Professor Wang Gang.

The clinical manifestations of Parkinson's disease include motor symptoms such as tremors, muscle stiffness, bradykinesia, and postural balance disorders, as well as non-motor symptoms such as sleep disorders, olfactory disorders, autonomic nervous system disorders, cognitive disorders, and mental disorders. Currently, there is still no cure for this disease. 

Picture: A documentary picture of Wang Gang, Director of the Department of Neurology at Renji Hospital, making rounds in the ward.

The "China Parkinson's Disease Report 2025" elaborates in detail on the changes in the diagnostic criteria for Parkinson's disease and introduces a variety of auxiliary examination methods based on drugs, olfactory tests, imaging, molecular imaging technology, ultrasonic medicine, tissue and body fluid biomarkers, genes, etc. It especially emphasizes the importance of the diagnosis of the prodromal stage of Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's subtypes. Research shows that the pathophysiological damage process of Parkinson's disease already exists several years to decades before the clinical diagnosis of the disease. That is, before the appearance of motor symptoms, some non-motor symptoms such as constipation, hyposmia and/or anosmia, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, urgent urination, sexual dysfunction, orthostatic hypotension, anxiety and depression, color vision impairment, and executive function impairment have already occurred. The screening of high-risk factors for Parkinson's disease and the diagnosis of the prodromal stage will greatly advance the time of therapeutic intervention, bringing the greatest benefits to patients. Moreover, Parkinson's disease is a highly heterogeneous disease, and there are significant differences among different patients in terms of age of onset, clinical manifestations, treatment response, and disease progression rate. According to these characteristics, Parkinson's disease can be divided into different clinical subtypes. The accurate classification of these disease subtypes is helpful for clarifying their pathophysiological mechanisms, predicting disease progression, and carrying out targeted precision treatment. Early diagnosis and precise diagnosis may be important breakthroughs in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

In terms of treatment, the report details a variety of drugs used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (including levodopa preparations in different dosage forms, dopamine receptor agonists, MAO-B and COMT inhibitors, drugs targeting α-synuclein, and gene therapy targeting Parkinson's disease, etc.), neuromodulation techniques, stem cell therapy, and traditional Chinese medicine therapy. At the same time, it also provides corresponding introductions to the ongoing clinical trials. 

Picture: The signing of the cooperation intention agreement for the clinical research project related to the treatment of Parkinson's disease with stem cell exosomes led by the Department of Neurology of Renji Hospital.

Professor Chen Shengdi, a lifetime professor at Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and a co-corresponding author of the "China Parkinson's Disease Report 2025", Professor Zheng Jialin, Director of the Branch of Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Chinese Neuroscience Society and Dean of the School of Medicine of Tongji University, Zuo Xiaolei, Director of the Scientific Research Office of Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and Li Peiying, Director of the Clinical Research Center of Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, delivered speeches successively, congratulating on the release of the report and elaborating on the theoretical and practical values of the report from different perspectives. On behalf of the report writing team, Wang Gang, Director of the Department of Neurology of Renji Hospital, introduced the main content and release significance of the "China Parkinson's Disease Report 2025". Huang Wenhua, Director of the Editorial Office of the Journal of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, and others attended the meeting. Wang Hualong, Deputy Director and Chief Physician of the Department of Neurology of Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, presided over the meeting. On the same day, a signing ceremony for the cooperation of the clinical research project related to the treatment of Parkinson's disease with stem cell exosomes led by the Department of Neurology of Renji Hospital was also held.