11/1/21 - Van Andel Institute to Use Grant to Study Parkinson’s Disease

Van Andel Institute (VAI) researchers and others in a collaborative project are using a $6.3 million grant to speed up research on Parkinson’s disease.

(MLive) - Emory University in Atlanta received the grant from Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s Collaborative Research Network, or ASAP, which is fostering collaboration and resources to better understand the underlying causes of the disease.

Emory and VAI researchers are working with those from State University of New York and Inscopix in Palo Alto, California, to improve treatment for Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects about 1 million people in the United States and 6 million worldwide. It affects movement and there is no cure.

Understanding the mechanisms that propel Parkinson’s onset and spread is vital for developing effective treatments that improve quality of life, officials say.

“Parkinson’s is a complex disorder that has long evaded attempts to fully reveal its underpinnings and, as such, has stymied attempts to slow or stop disease progression,” Hong-yuan Chu, Ph.D, who is leading the Van Andel Institute team, said in a statement.

“I am hopeful our mechanistic studies will reveal new insights into the brain circuits impacted by the disease at the cellular and synaptic levels, and provide a path forward for new therapeutic development.”

Researchers are looking at how Parkinson’s causes motor disturbances to parts of the brain that control voluntary movements.

“The motor symptoms of (Parkinson’s) occur when brain cells that make dopamine, a chemical that coordinates movement, die,” researchers said in the statement.

They said that the cerebral cortex of the brain has a big impact on the selection and control of body movements.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is providing the grant funds. It is an an implementation partner with ASAP. Fox, an actor, launched the foundation in 2000 after publicly disclosing disclosing his 1991 diagnosis, at age 29. It is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research.

The project is led by Dr. Thomas Wichmann, a neurology professor at Emory School of Medicine and associate director for scientific programs at Emory’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He said this is a “fantastic opportunity” to work with some of the best groups in the country to increase our knowledge of Parkinson’s disease, from genetic and molecular changes to large-scale alterations of brain network activities.

“Our research will examine one of the enigmatic aspects of the disease: the involvement of the cerebral cortex in the manifestations of parkinsonism,” Wichman said.

“Characterizing abnormalities in specific cortical neurons, such as our team plans to do, is critical for developing new therapies that target the affected circuits through deep brain stimulation as well as medications and genetic methods.”

Researchers said the study will help develop “new treatment strategies that may directly target cortical nerve cells.”

Wichman said: “Establishing the time course of anatomical changes, relative to disease progression, is important for determining the appropriate timing for applying these treatment strategies and, therefore, achieving the best results.”

Researchers are also working to determine if gut microbiome can cause the disease through interaction with sensory cells.

“We know individuals with Parkinson’s can have gastrointestinal issues that coincide with distinct changes to the gut microbiome,” said Tim Sampson, Ph.D, an assistant professor at assistant professor at Emory School of Medicine Department of Cell Biology.