Our Research - Parkinson's
We carry out laboratory and clinical research to understand the causes of Parkinson’s, with the ultimate aim of helping to identify new treatments. We work closely with the local Parkinson’s community to ensure that our research is meaningful to those with the condition. We collaborate with colleagues in the UK and across the world.
Our laboratory-based research focuses on a number of areas:
- Understanding how proteins like alpha-synuclein and Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) contribute to the mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s. The genes for these proteins are found to be mutated in some people with Parkinson's so understanding how this translates to symptoms and disease progression is important.
- Defining the healthy and pathological molecular states of alpha-synuclein so we can understand what causes the pathological state to occur and spread.
- Establishing robust molecular, cellular, and animal models of Parkinson’s to both understand disease mechanisms and test novel therapies. Our researchers have been working with patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models, as well as animal models in Drosophila (fruit fly) and C. elegans (a type of worm), to better understand disease mechanism, but also to explore possible treatments which might be taken forward into clinical research.
- Recognising that the brain does not work in isolation, we are also investigating the connection between neurodegeneration, inflammation and immunity in Parkinson’s models.
Our clinical and translational research includes:
- Identifying novel risk factors for Parkinson’s using large datasets such as the UK Biobank and the Million Women Study.
- Understanding and characterising the genetic epidemiology of Parkinson’s via projects such as ROPAD (Rostock International Parkinson's Disease Study) and PD-FRONTLINE.
- Developing a reliable diagnostic test for Parkinson's by examining alpha-synuclein in a variety of biofluids using a technique called RT-QuIC. Our researchers were the first to describe this approach using cerebrospinal fluid.
- Studying the neglected non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's (such as dementia and communication problems).
- Telemonitoring using wearable technologies (such as smart watches) to develop efficient, robust, and objective ways of characterising physical activity, sleep, and circadian rhythm patterns.
- Delivering Phase II and III clinical trials in collaboration with the Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network and Edinburgh Clinical Trial Facility.
UoE researchers who work in this area include:
- Prof Douglas Armstrong, School of Informatics
- Dr David Breen, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences and Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic
- Prof Siddharthan Chandran, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences (Director) and Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic (Director)
- Dr Maria Doitsidou, Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences
- Dr Gordon Duncan, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
- Dr Alison Green, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
- Dr Mathew Horrocks, School of Chemistry
- Dr Tilo Kunath, Centre for Regenerative Medicine
- Prof Cait MacPhee, School of Physics and Astronomy
- Dr Bhuvaneish T. Selvaraj, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
- Dr Thanasis Tsanas, Centre for Medical Informatics
Useful weblinks for biopolar disorder research
- Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic
- Dundee and Edinburgh Parkinson’s Research Initiative
- Parkinson’s UK Edinburgh Branch Research Interest Group