Biomarkers in Parkinson's disease v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Biomarkers in Parkinson's disease
IRAS ID
235008
Contact name
Esther Sammler
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Dundee
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative condition. The cause for developing PD is largely unknown, but age, environment and genetic factors play a role. The discovery of genetic mutations in familial forms of the condition provides new opportunities to study what goes wrong in PD on a molecular level and to identify new targets for disease-modifying interventions. One such target is the Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2), which has been implicated in causing both familial and idiopathic PD. Pharmacological companies have already started phase 1 clincal trials, which counter the effect of LRRK2. Many challanges remain; for example, it is difficult to monitor LRRK2 kinase activity in humans and hence measure the effect and engagement of any LRRK2-targeting drugs. In 2016, the Alessi lab at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit in Dundee discovered that LRRK2 regulates a group of proteins termed Rabs. The research community regards this as a critical basic research finding. I have developed a test that allows the interrogation of the LRRK2 pathway in human peripheral blood. The aim of this study is to explore the utility of this assay in idiopathic and familial PD and see whether this tests allows the identification of individuals with increased LRRK2 kinase activity that will most likely benefit from LRRK2 kianse inhibitor treatment.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
19/ES/0031
Date of REC Opinion
10 Jul 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion