ADCRC Awards Grant to Arizona Parkinson's Disease Center

Monday, April 01, 2002

April 1, 2002 - Parkinson's disease research is soaring to new heights in Arizona with the establishment of the Arizona Parkinson's Disease Center.

The new center is a collaboration of four prominent research institutions — Sun Health Research Institute, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, Barrow Neurological Institute and Arizona State University — that together have been awarded the center's first three grants totaling up to $1.6 million by the Arizona Disease Control Research Commission (ADCRC).

A premier research network, the Parkinson's Disease Center will intensify efforts to find new treatment modalities that will increase the survival and quality of life for victims of Parkinson's disease. The ADCRC now funds medical research for the investigation into the causes, the epidemiology and diagnosis, the formulation of cures and new treatments, including new drug discovery and development, that may ultimately lead to the prevention of the disease.

Jeffrey Joyce, Ph.D., from the Sun Health Research Institute has been awarded a $1.01 million grant and will serve as principal investigator for the Parkinson's Disease Program Project. He is head and senior scientist of the Thomas H. Christopher Center for Parkinson's Research.

Dr. Joyce is joined by Charles Adler, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neurology, Mayo Medical School and chair of the Division of Movement Disorders, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale; Mark Stacy, M.D., director of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson's Research Center and chief of the Movement Disorders Section at Barrow Neurological Institute within St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center; George Stelmach, Ph.D., director of the Motor Control Laboratory at Arizona State University; and their respective teams of researchers who include:

Sun Health Research Institute: Tom Beach, M.D., Ph.D., head and senior scientist of the Civin Laboratory of Neuropathology; Joseph Rogers, Ph,D., institute president and senior scientist; Yong Shen, M.D., Ph.D., head and senior scientist of the Haldeman Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology; Rena Li, M.D., Ph.D., principal scientist in the L.J. Roberts Center for Alzheimer's Research and Marwan Sabbagh, M.D., head of the Cleo Roberts Center for Clinical Research.

Mayo Clinic Scottsdale: John Caviness, M.D., associate professor of Neurology, Mayo Medical School, as well as co-director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale.

In addition to the program project, the two other grants were awarded to Arizona State University's Michael Sierks, Ph.D., chemical materials engineer and Yuri Lyubchenko, Ph.D., biologist for the Micro Keck Imaging Center; and to Dr. Shen and Dr. Li at the Sun Health Research Institute.

Dr. Shen, who was awarded a grant totaling $295,000, will be principal investigator for his "Gene Targeting TNF Receptors: Implication for Parkinson's Disease" study. Dr. Li serves as co-principal investigator.

Dr. Sierks, who also was awarded a grant totaling $295,000, will serve as principal investigator for his study, entitled "Controlling a-synuclein Aggregation as a Tool for Studying Parkinson's." Dr. Lyubchenko serves as co-principal investigator.

Each scientist brings a broad range of expertise to the Parkinson's Disease Center. Its investigators already have been working together for four years on various Parkinson's disease-related studies.

Last year, Arizona legislation opened new doors for the ADCRC to support a broader scope of medical research that includes more in-depth investigation into the causes of and treatments for Parkinson's disease. The goal is to go beyond present-day treatment to prevent, retard or stop the progression of this disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by tremor when the person is sitting or standing at rest, rigidity or stiffness, and slowness of movement. As the second most common age-related neurological disorder, PD affects 1 to 2 million Americans, a number that is growing significantly as the population continues to age. The annual cost of PD is approaching $25 billion, and the impact on patients and families is accelerated during the course of the illness. When clinical treatment becomes less effective, dementia can become common, and associated health problems accumulate.

Several avenues of research, however, have begun to suggest pathogenic (disease-causing) mechanisms of PD.

"By understanding these mechanisms better, it may be possible to come up with neuroprotective agents that offer lasting benefits for PD patients or perhaps even prevent it entirely," Dr. Adler explains.

"This is the common theme that links all the elements of our Arizona Parkinson's Disease Center," Dr. Joyce says. "It's very exciting to collaborate with other experts in the field through the Center so we can increase the chances of making a significant difference."

For more information about the Arizona Parkinson's Disease Center, contact Dr. Joyce at the Sun Health Research Institute, 623/876-5466; or Dr. Adler at the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, 480/301-8112.

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