IU School of Medicine Receives $6 Million Grant for Nationwide Study on the Genetics of Parkinson's Disease

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana University School of Medicine has received a $6 million National Institutes of Health grant for the largest nationwide study ever conducted on the genetics of Parkinson's disease.

IU School of Medicine will serve as the coordinating site for the study which will be conducted at more than 40 medical centers and institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Nearly 50,000 patients will be screened by the Parkinson's Study Group, a nationwide network of neurologists specializing in Parkinson's Disease.

From the screenings, 400 pairs of siblings, both of whom are affected with Parkinson's disease, will be identified to participate in the genetic study. By studying siblings, researchers will be able to identify chromosomal regions that affected siblings consistently share at higher rates than expected by chance. These areas or "hot spots" will be examined further in order to identify the genes responsible for the development of Parkinson's disease.

P. Michael Conneally, Ph.D., IU distinguished professor of medical and molecular genetics and of neurology, is the principal investigator of this nationwide study. Other IU investigators are Eric Siemers, M.D., clinical associate professor of neurology, and Joanne M. Wojcieszek, M.D., clinical assistant professor of neurology, both of whom will recruit and evaluate Parkinson's disease patients from Indiana.

Tatiana Foroud, Ph.D., assistant professor of medical and molecular genetics and of psychiatry, will perform the data analyses. DNA screening will be conducted at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. Investigators at Emory University will examine another form of DNA collected from patients.

Parkinson's Disease is a degenerative neurological disease whose cause is unknown. Symptoms of Parkinson's disease include slowness of body movements, tremor, stooped posture, muscular stiffness (rigidity), short shuffling steps and poor balance.

Various causes of Parkinson's disease are under investigation, including the effects of environmental toxins, head trauma and stroke. Existing studies suggest that a genetic predisposition in combination with other factors may be significant in the development of the disease. Of the approximately 1 million people in the U.S. with Parkinson's disease, about 15 percent report having a first-degree relative (parent, child, sibling) who also has the disease.

Contact: Mary Hardin
317-274-7722
mhardin@iupui.edu

Ellen Gullett
317-274-7722
egullett@iupui.edu

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