parkinson’s research in ucc - dementia research network...
TRANSCRIPT
Professor Aideen Sullivan
University College Cork
Parkinson’s research in UCC: Lifestyle factors and improving therapies
What happens in the brain in Parkinson’s?
Parkinson’s brain
Healthy brain
Movement
Motor symptoms
MIDBRAIN STRIATUM
• RIGIDITY
• RESTING TREMOR
• POSTURAL
INSTABILITY
• BRADYKINESIA
What happens in the brain in Parkinson’s? What are we trying to prevent /slow down?
1. Gradual loss of dopamine neurons that control movement
2. A protein called alpha-synuclein builds up (aggregates) and spreads through the nervous system
3. As the disease progresses, many areas of the nervous system are affected and this causes a multitude of different symptoms
Lewy body
But it’s not just dopamine neurons that are affected
Non-motor symptoms have a huge impact on patients
Sleep disturbances
Cognitive impairment
Gastrointestinal issues Mood disorders
Swallowing &
speech problems
Bladder issues
Loss of smell
Age
Environment(Pesticides)
Genetics
Genetic causes e.g. alpha-synuclein, LRKK2, parkin, PINK1, DJ-1
Why does Parkinson’s happen?
For most patients, the cause of Parkinson’s is unknown
Risk factors:
Researching to improve therapies and earlier diagnostics for Parkinson’s
A Centre of Excellence in Neurodegeneration
40 Research teams https://www.ucc.ie/en.cns
OUR GOAL Apply our knowledge to develop better therapies, and improve quality of life for people living with major brain diseases
Researching to improve therapies for Parkinson’s: How are we doing this?
People
• body / tissue / cell / molecular changes
• lifestyle / environment
Models • laboratory models for testing disease mechanisms
People Therapies
Diagnostics
• new therapies for clinical trials
• life-style interventions
• new diagnostic approaches
Ultimate aim: to understand causes of Parkinson’s and translate findings to better therapies that prevent or slow down the disease
Metabolic /longevity
control Insulin/IGF1
Nurturing factors
Neurotransmission
Cell survival
Inflammation
Vascular
Protein health
Cell waste disposal
Metabolism Longevity
Gut-brain axis
Microbiome
Lifestyle factors Environment
Researching to improve therapies for Parkinson’s: How are we doing this?
Add dopamine or
mimic its actions
Movement
Parkinson’s
brain
MIDBRAIN STRIATUM
Effective in the short-term
Do not stop disease progression
Disabling side-effects with long-
term use
Researching to improve therapies for Parkinson’s: Why are we doing this?
1. Neurotrophic factors –
natural proteins that nurture dopamine
neurons in the developing brain
Researching to improve therapies for Parkinson’s: How are we doing this?
Researching to improve therapies for Parkinson’s
2. Focus on non-motor symptoms
- new laboratory models
(cognitive symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms)
Non-motor symptoms greatly affect patients’ quality of life
- study on sleep, diet and mood
(collaboration with Cork Parkinson’s Support Group)
Preventing Parkinson’s by understanding lifestyle factors for healthy ageing
Parkinson’s will be best prevented both by understanding lifestyle factors that may slow down its progress and by developing new therapies that target the
cell and molecular systems that cause the disease
Management Team
Cora O’Neill
Aideen Sullivan
Suzanne Timmons
Yvonne Nolan
Gerard O’Keeffe
Aisling Ryan
John Cryan
Team
Barry Boland
Geraldine Boylan
Jason Chan
Danny Costello
Tom Cotter
Simon Cronin
Ruslan Dmitriev
Ted Dinan
Tony Foley
Collette Hand
Niall Hyland
John McCarthy
Justin McCarthy
Will Molloy
Deirdre Murray
Nicole Muller
Ken O’Halloran
Olivia O’Leary
Dervla O’Malley
Denis O’Mahony
Siobhain O’Mahony
Sean O’Sullivan
Colm O’Tuathaigh
Orna O’Toole
Dmitri Papkovsky
Mark Rae
Annalisa Setti
George Shorten
Brian Sweeney
Andre Toulouse
Christian Waeber
Paul Young
Affiliated PIs
Stephen Byrne
Kellie Dean
Susan Joyce
Eric Moore
Tom Moore
Mary McCaffrey
Caitriona O’Driscoll
Rosemary O’Connor
https://www.ucc.ie/en.cns
Cork neuroscience centre Funding and support
Translational Research Access Programme (TRAP) UCC
The Netherlands Brain Bank
“So hope for a great sea-change
On the far side of revenge.
Believe that further shore
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracle
And cures and healing wells”