Can We Solve the Parkinson’s Puzzle?

January 17, 2025
Illustration of the brain

Image credit: Pete Ryan

Columbia Neurology’s researchers from the Movement Disorders Division and colleagues from the Department of Neurology for many years have been conducting multiple studies on Parkinson’s disorder (PD), the fastest-growing neurological disease. Their findings help develop new prevention methods, improve treatment, and gather information that would eventually lead to finding a cure.

Serge Przedborski, MD, PhD, the Department of Neurology’s Movement Disorders Division Chief, has been studying PD extensively by using molecular and cellular biology to find out why some brain cells are more prone to the progression of the disease. Elizabeth Bradshaw, PhD, working closely with Dr. Przedborski’s team, co-lead a large-scale study that compares characteristics of neuronal and non-neuronal cells in different brain regions. “So if we can identify the molecular or cellular determinants that make the VTA neurons more resistant to Parkinson’s, we can try to devise therapies to boost the resilience of the more susceptible SN neurons. That’s the goal,” says Dr. Przedborski.

Karen Marder, MD, MPH, and  Roy Alcalay, MD, MS are studying Parkinson’s hereditary mutations, most common in the PRKN, LRRK2, and GBA genes, to determine if some populations are more prone to developing PD. “We found that LRRK2 patients have a milder disease and less cognitive changes than those with the GBA mutation. People with GBA mutations have more non-motor symptoms, such as REM sleep behavior disorder and loss of sense of smell, have a faster disease progression, and are more likely to develop cognitive changes,” says Dr. Alcalay. Their findings can help develop better PD treatment. [read more]

Source: Columbia Magazine