Parkinson’s Research: RESEARCH NEWS
New project targets PD gene.

10/22/07: The American Parkinson Disease Association has awarded the Parkinson's Genetic Research Group a grant for a project titled "Fine-mapping of a Chromosome 17q21 Region Associated with Parkinson’s Disease." This project will look more closely at a gene that our group has determined increases the risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

PaGeR to take a closer look at one suspicious gene.

8/2/06: The American Parkinson Disease Association has awarded the Parkinson's Genetic Research Group a grant for a project titled "A Comprehensive Screen of the LRRK2 Gene in Familial Parkinson's Disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies." This project will look in detail at the code of one of the genes that has been implicated in the development of Parkinson's disease in a group of individuals with Parkinson's disease and the related disorder dementia with Lewy bodies. The goal of the project is to help find variants in the code that cause Parkinson's and to distinguish these disease-causing variants from variants of the gene that may be uncommon, but not disease-causing.

PaGeR joins global Parkinson's disease research consortium.

8/2/04: The Parkinson’s Genetic Research Group has joined a global research consortium in Parkinson's disease.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) announced July 26, 2004, that it has awarded approximately $1.2 million to fund five research projects through the Edmond J. Safra Global Genetics Consortia initiative. This program, launched in October 2003, requires participating researchers to share their findings to facilitate and improve the understanding of the genetics and epidemiology of Parkinson’s disease.

Our part of the collaboration is a project titled “Gene-Environment Interaction in PD.” Our team will join five other institutions in the U.S. and Finland to study the role of six genes and three environmental factors (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, caffeine and tobacco) on the risk of developing PD.

“By revving up the power of analysis through collaborations, the Edmond J. Safra Global Genetics Consortia seeks to achieve conclusive results about the importance of specific genetic influences,” said J. William Langston, MD, chief scientific advisor to The Michael J. Fox Foundation and CEO of The Parkinson’s Institute. “Together with our recently announced effort to create the first genetic map of Parkinson’s, this program promises to significantly advance both the depth and breadth of our understanding of the cause, treatment and prevention of the disease.”

To read the original press release, visit www.michaeljfox.org/news/article.php?id=114.