The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, California, last week announced an alliance with 23andMe, a gene-testing company in Mountain View, California. The initiative aims to improve methods for collecting large amounts of consistent data on DNA, lifestyle, family history and environmental exposures, to unpick the factors that contribute to Parkinson's disease.

The current initiative, funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease, will gather information from 150 people — half with and half without the disease. Researchers will use questionnaire data from the group to develop robust surveys that can be hosted online by 23andMe. The idea is that future 23andMe clients will be offered the chance to take these surveys, so they can easily add their genetic and lifestyle data to the project.

“It could be a real game change” for disease epidemiology, says Bill Langston, director of the Parkinson's Institute. But he acknowledges that it will only have a big impact if many people choose to pay for the genetic tests and participate in studies.