Grant: Project Grant

While Parkinson's Disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, the disease is in fact, highly complex, and many patients suffer from both motor and non-motor symptoms. Cell death in PD is associated with accumulation protein aggregates that consist primarily of the protein synuclein in cells of the brain. We have identified a means of dissolving synuclein aggregates in brain cells. Using Parkinson patient-derived stem cells coupled with animal models of the disease, this proposal will explore whether dissolving synuclein aggregates protects from cellular dysfunction in PD.