Parkinson's Disease Support Group
Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder often characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement, and in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement. The primary symptoms of Parkinsons are due to excessive muscle contraction, normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the...
I joined a genetic research orginisation a while ago, and strongly encourage everyone with PD to do so. If interested please read their latest findings on PD. Might look a little heavy duty reading, but hey we have a heavy duty crap disease.
Read on listeners :)
Parkinson's Research Initiative
Dear ,
Recently, we sat down with the team at the Michael J. Fox Foundation to take stock of the recent advances in Parkinson's research. Our conversation centered around new understandings of the genetics of Parkinson's disease that could form the building blocks for research over the next decade.
Learning more about the role genetics plays in Parkinson's could provide life changing new treatments for people living with the disease. Much of the work to this end is currently focused on a particular mutation in the LRRK2 gene. About one in 10,000 people have this particular mutation - G2019S - which is associated with a 50 percent lifetime risk of Parkinson's compared to about one percent in the general population. While this association is well established, the role the mutation plays in the development of the disease is less clear. Researchers, however, have made some important breakthroughs offering insight into the possible role that LRRK2 plays in developing the disease, as well as how genetics may interact with environmental factors to cause Parkinson's .
You can read our full blog post on the State of the Science, which reviews the role of LRRK2 and Parkinson's in detail. For instance, in some cases LRRK2 patients have somewhat milder symptoms and less pronounced loss of smell.
Other genetic variants are also being studied, and there is a much broader effort to do a sort of "mega" meta-analysis that would develop a master list of common genetic variants associated with the disease. It's believed that together these genetic variants account for about a quarter of all Parkinson's cases, but most of those genetic associations have yet to be discovered. 23andMe and the Michael J. Fox Foundation are part of this large-scale effort.
This review includes a discussion of the role the immune system plays in Parkinson's, including how inflammation of the brain may contribute to the onset of the disease. Todd Sherer, the CEO of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, said that one high level theory is that if this connection is real this could explain why not everyone with the LRRK2 mutation develops Parkinson's. "To activate the immune system response you need some kind of trigger," he said. "It may take a trigger to interact with the genetics, but no one has tested for this yet."
We also examine the cellular basis of Parkinson's. Researchers have found that alpha-synuclein accumulates and clumps together in the brain of Parkinson's patients. Creating medications to target these clumps could have a significant impact on the disease.
Another thrust of the research is into biomarkers that can be used to track the progression of Parkinson's and may help in early intervention. By identifying those with high risk of developing the disease, it may be easier to target them with new drugs or other therapies to prevent them from ever developing Parkinson's.
Click here to read the full State of the Science.
New understandings of the genetics of PD offer much to be hopeful about. Parkinson's is an extremely complex disease, but researchers are finding more and more pieces in our effort to complete our understanding of this sometimes puzzling disease. We are lucky to have so many resources to help us achieve this goal. This review really only scratches the surface of the work being done to find treatment and a cure for Parkinson's. We plan to follow up with another update on the latest progress of Parkinson's research every six months.
Warm Regards,
Emily Drabant, Ph.D.
Parkinson's Research Project Manager
Learn more about our Parkinson's Research at www.23andme.com/pd
Read on listeners :)
Parkinson's Research Initiative
Dear ,
Recently, we sat down with the team at the Michael J. Fox Foundation to take stock of the recent advances in Parkinson's research. Our conversation centered around new understandings of the genetics of Parkinson's disease that could form the building blocks for research over the next decade.
Learning more about the role genetics plays in Parkinson's could provide life changing new treatments for people living with the disease. Much of the work to this end is currently focused on a particular mutation in the LRRK2 gene. About one in 10,000 people have this particular mutation - G2019S - which is associated with a 50 percent lifetime risk of Parkinson's compared to about one percent in the general population. While this association is well established, the role the mutation plays in the development of the disease is less clear. Researchers, however, have made some important breakthroughs offering insight into the possible role that LRRK2 plays in developing the disease, as well as how genetics may interact with environmental factors to cause Parkinson's .
You can read our full blog post on the State of the Science, which reviews the role of LRRK2 and Parkinson's in detail. For instance, in some cases LRRK2 patients have somewhat milder symptoms and less pronounced loss of smell.
Other genetic variants are also being studied, and there is a much broader effort to do a sort of "mega" meta-analysis that would develop a master list of common genetic variants associated with the disease. It's believed that together these genetic variants account for about a quarter of all Parkinson's cases, but most of those genetic associations have yet to be discovered. 23andMe and the Michael J. Fox Foundation are part of this large-scale effort.
This review includes a discussion of the role the immune system plays in Parkinson's, including how inflammation of the brain may contribute to the onset of the disease. Todd Sherer, the CEO of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, said that one high level theory is that if this connection is real this could explain why not everyone with the LRRK2 mutation develops Parkinson's. "To activate the immune system response you need some kind of trigger," he said. "It may take a trigger to interact with the genetics, but no one has tested for this yet."
We also examine the cellular basis of Parkinson's. Researchers have found that alpha-synuclein accumulates and clumps together in the brain of Parkinson's patients. Creating medications to target these clumps could have a significant impact on the disease.
Another thrust of the research is into biomarkers that can be used to track the progression of Parkinson's and may help in early intervention. By identifying those with high risk of developing the disease, it may be easier to target them with new drugs or other therapies to prevent them from ever developing Parkinson's.
Click here to read the full State of the Science.
New understandings of the genetics of PD offer much to be hopeful about. Parkinson's is an extremely complex disease, but researchers are finding more and more pieces in our effort to complete our understanding of this sometimes puzzling disease. We are lucky to have so many resources to help us achieve this goal. This review really only scratches the surface of the work being done to find treatment and a cure for Parkinson's. We plan to follow up with another update on the latest progress of Parkinson's research every six months.
Warm Regards,
Emily Drabant, Ph.D.
Parkinson's Research Project Manager
Learn more about our Parkinson's Research at www.23andme.com/pd
deleted_user
Thankyou Peachy! It is always encouraging to read that serious research is racing toward the cure.
deleted_user
Thank you for the post , I red it an yes it is encouraging. It is nice to know ,that all that money is not being waisted . Zlatica
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