Second Mayo scientist receives grant from Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

Friday, February 21, 2003

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 21, 2003 — The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) awarded a $250,000 grant to Matthew Farrer, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, to asses the role of the alpha synuclein gene as a biomarker for Parkinson's disease.

Currently, there is no definitive diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease, a motor system disorder characterized by tremors, rigidity, slow movement and balance problems. People are diagnosed on the basis of their medical history and clinical evaluation. The Fox Foundation designed its biomarker initiative to develop and validate diagnostic tests. Farrer is one of eight investigators from around the world who received part of the $1.6 million award funding this initiative. His is among five projects that received full funding.

"With a lot of disorders, certainly neurological disorders, people are looking for ways in which they can assess risk pre-symptomatically," Farrer says. "What better biomarker can there be than DNA? You can see if there's anything within the DNA that predisposes to risk."

Two pathogenic mutations of the alpha synuclein gene are implicated in familial Parkinson's, a rare form of the disease. Farrer has conducted numerous studies with families affected by familial Parkinson's. The aim of his grant is to determine if the alpha synuclein gene plays a role in Parkinson's disease from undetermined causes as well. "One of the things that my lab is really keen to do is to take findings from the particular and translate them into the universal," Farrer says. He says Parkinson's disease is actually a syndrome of distinct disorders probably caused by the interplay of environmental and genetic factors. "I think a certain subgroup of Parkinson's sufferers are basically predisposed by some differences in their alpha synuclein gene," he says. "And I think we can find out what those things are."

Farrer thinks work in this area may also lead to targeted, individualized treatments for Parkinson's. That could happen if genetic subgroups of Parkinson's are isolated that have clinical correlations, such as severity of a symptom or degree of response to medication.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is dedicated to ensuring the development of a cure for Parkinson's disease within this decade through an aggressively funded research agenda.

###

To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.