The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research has awarded Kalipada
Pahan, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry, UNMC College of Dentistry,
a two-year $125,000 grant to study the effectiveness of a drug to stop
the destruction of cells in mouse models with Parkinsons Disease.
Dr. Pahan is one of eight Parkinsons disease researcher groups whove
recently received about $4 million in research grants through the new Community
Fast Track research initiative, led by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for
Parkinsons Research. The program officially named 18 projects which it
will fund over two years through the investigator-initiated program, designed
to stimulate novel, innovative and high-impact approaches to the field
of Parkinsons research.
Grant recipients were chosen from a large pool of international applicants
assessed on the quality of novel science proposed as well as potential
to increase understanding of Parkinsons and eventually translate findings
into patient treatments. Among this years awardees, three researchers
will be receiving funding specifically to investigate Parkinsons disease
for the first time. These three grants represent an early success for the
program, which aims to attract new scientists from other research fields
to study PD.
Community Fast Track offers a channel through which Parkinsons groups
can contribute to an extremely selective peer-review award process, explained
Deborah W. Brooks, executive director. This collaboration is distinguished
not only by the merit of each individual application funded but also by
the power of the Parkinsons community as a whole to draw new researchers
into the field and cultivate them for long-term development.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive, incurable neurological disorder
that results from degeneration of neurons in a region of the brain that
controls movement. The cause is unknown. Degeneration creates a shortage
of the brain signaling chemical known as dopamine, causing the movement
impairments that characterize the disease.
Im thrilled to receive a grant to study Parkinsons disease, Dr.
Pahan said. Diseases of the brain affect everything. We want to know why
these cells are dying and how theyre dying. Its the most fascinating
area to study.
Dr. Pahans research team will study NF-kBs potential role in the Parkinsons
disease process in laboratory mice models. Similar to multiple sclerosis,
inflammation plays an important role in the loss of neurons in Parkinsons
disease. NF-kB, a protein present naturally in the body, is involved in
the production of different inflammatory molecules. Their study will
focus on the role of NBD peptides, peptides shown to inhibit the activation
of NF-kB, in the disease process of Parkinsons disease in animal models.
Dr. Pahan is involved in studying multiple sclerosis, another neurodegenerative
disorder, and has published results of, the effectiveness of a variety
of drugs on multiple sclerosis in mouse models in the laboratory.
Researchers have found when multiple sclerosis is present in animal
models, the amount of NF-kB markedly increases in the brain and spinal
cord. Dr. Pahan and his colleagues recently have found NBD peptides markedly
inhibit the inflammatory disease process of multiple sclerosis in mouse
models. The results raise the possibility that NBD peptides may turn out
to be an anti-neuroinflammatory drug.
Dr. Pahan said understanding how the disease works is important to developing
effective drugs that protect the brain and stop the progression of Parkinsons
disease. We know this drug works in suppressing the destructive process
in the brain of MS in mouse models, Dr. Pahan said. We want to know if
this drug does the same thing in mice that exhibit Parkinsons disease.
In the United States, at least 500,000 people are believed to suffer
from Parkinson’s disease, and about 50,000 new cases are reported annually.
The incidence is expected to increase as the average age of the population
increases. The disorder appears to be slightly more common in men than
women.