From left: Prof Abhay Pandit and PhD candidate Patricia Bocanegra Lopez. Image: University of Galway
As the world marks World Parkinson’s Day, an Irish-led team of scientists have uncovered crucial details around the molecular signature of the disease.
A team of Irish and international scientists have been able to identify critical targets in the molecular signature of Parkinson’s disease across different stages of its progression.
Announced today (11 April) to coincide with World Parkinson’s Day, the research was conducted by researchers based at Cúram, the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) research centre for medical devices based at University of Galway, along with the Medical University of South Carolina and Vienna University of Technology.
Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimer’s, and it has no known cause – but most cases are not inherited. More than 10m people in the world and around 15,000 people based in Ireland are patients of the neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects speech and movement.
According to Parkinson’s Ireland, the disease is most commonly diagnosed in people over the age of 60. However, early and young onset Parkinson’s can also affect younger people between the ages of 21-60. Those younger than that age group are said to have juvenile parkinsonism.
While there has been a great deal of research interest in the disease, its complete molecular signature remains unclear.
Researchers said that untangling molecules related to Parkinson’s called glycans has been challenging due to their complexity and lack of analytical tools. These sugars – vital for cell-to-cell communication – are found on the cell’s surface and are fundamental in ensuring the correct flow of information between cells.
‘Laying the groundwork’
Now, the latest research recently published in PNAS Nexus provides a complete characterisation of the glycans associated with the connections in the brain that are affected by Parkinson’s disease. The team said these findings can potentially advance the development of glycan-focused therapeutic devices to treat and diagnose Parkinson’s.
Prof Abhay Pandit, scientific director of Cúram and project lead, said that the study will act as a valuable resource for subsequent investigations into the impact of brain glycans on neurodegeneration.
“It has been established that modifications in glycans have a bearing on other physiological aspects, which could potentially serve as catalysts for additional degeneration,” he explained.
“Our study has specifically focused on Parkinson’s disease, but there are other neurodegenerative conditions for which the glycan environment remains unexplored, and this research will therefore lay the groundwork for future studies on other diseases.”
Dr Ana Lúcia Rebelo, lead author of the study, said that she and the team aimed to specifically look at a side of the Parkinsonian brain that was “previously unexplored” – what they call the glycome.
“This research is a significant step towards understanding, in-depth, what is happening in this life-altering condition and exploring other therapeutic avenues that could target previously unaccounted-for changes,” she said.
“Emerging technologies currently in development will be instrumental in expanding upon the preliminary ‘glyco’ characterisation that has been initiated with this research, culminating in further discoveries in future.”
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