Projects:
Serum and cerebrospinal fluid lipids in pre-clinical and clinical Parkinson’s disease.
The Australian Parkinson’s Mission: an Australian-led international collaboration between the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Shake It Up Australia Foundation, the University of Sydney, the Cure Parkinson’s Trust (UK), Michael J Fox Foundation (USA) and Parkinson’s Australia.
Research Project Objectives
Investigating inflammatory and lipid markers in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of Parkinson’s disease patients. Markers will be examined in genetic and sporadic Parkinson’s disease and in patients at a high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
(2018-2022).
Challenges within the field
A major challenge in the Parkinson’s disease field is the lack of biomarkers that could aid in Parkinson’s disease clinical trials.
Research Project Description
Inflammatory markers in Parkinson’s disease plasma:
A panel of inflammatory markers were investigated with ELISAs and fluorometric assays. Inflammatory markers were compared between those with and without Parkinson’s disease and those with and without mutations in the Parkinson’s disease risk gene GBA.
Lipid markers in Parkinson’s disease serum and cerebrospinal fluid:
Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure serum and cerebrospinal fluid lipidomes. Lipid markers were compared between those with and without Parkinson’s disease and those with and without mutations in the Parkinson’s disease risk gene LRRK2.
Key Publications from this project
- Galper J, Dean NJ, Pickford R, Lewis SJ G, Halliday GM, Kim W S, and Dzamko N. Lipid pathway dysfunction is prevalent in patients with Parkinson's disease. Brain. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awac176
- Galper J, Balwani M, Fahn S, Waters C, Krohn L, Gan-Or Z, Dzamko N, Alcalay RN. Cytokines and Gaucher Biomarkers in Glucocerebrosidase Carriers With and Without Parkinson Disease. Mov Disord. 2021 Feb 11. https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.28525. PMID: 33570220.
Infographic / Medical Diagram / Scientific Diagram / Picture
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Key Findings
Lipid pathway dysfunction is prevalent in patients with Parkinson’s disease