We're investing almost £1 million in pioneering research projects
Our latest investment supports 3 research projects uncovering the biology behind Parkinson's to unlock future treatments.
Parkinson's is a complicated condition that affects everyone differently. A loss of important brain cells can give rise to over 40 symptoms, but the reasons behind why these brain cells die may differ from person to person. To find better treatments, we have to understand exactly why these brain cells are lost in the first place.
And that's why we're pleased to announce that, in this round of funding, we have awarded almost £1 million across 3 projects to delve deep into the hidden biology of Parkinson's. By supporting world-class research at the UK's leading institutions, we aim to uncover the processes that lead to cell death and pave the way for future treatments for Parkinson's.
This year we had 28 people affected by Parkinson's take part in the review of all grant applications, submitting 87 reviews in total. The community reviewers work with scientific experts to make sure we fund high quality research that addresses the priorities of people with Parkinson's and helps achieve our aim of developing new treatments, faster.
Carroll Sui is one of the people with Parkinson's who helps choose what we fund. She said: "My role as a lay grant coordinator in the grant review process has highlighted the importance of patient and public involvement among other scientific reviewers, working together to choose the most promising research to improve the lives of people with Parkinson's.
"I'm particularly excited about Javier's work at Imperial. It's heartwarming to know that this research has been granted funding. Their work will further enrich the study of alpha-synuclein pathology in various neurons, thereby providing more precise and early diagnostic tests, which hopefully will guide the creation of new treatments for Parkinson's."
Read a summary of our newly funded research projects below.
Our newly funded projects
Exploring a different way to boost dopamine in cells
Lead researcher: Dr Stephanie Cragg, University of Oxford
Funding awarded: £391,129
In Parkinson's, brain cells that make a chemical messenger called dopamine, which helps us move, stop working and die over time. Current treatments try to replace this lost dopamine to help with symptoms, but they can stop working over time and cause unwanted side effects.
The research team will explore a different brain chemical messenger, called glycine, which could help boost dopamine's work. This could help bring to light a new avenue for targeted treatments that only act where they're needed, leading to fewer side effects in other parts of the brain.
Marc Reilly, who lives with Parkinson's and was involved in reviewing, said: "This is a new and promising area for research building on very recent discoveries. The research is exploring an alternative route to improve movement issues in people with Parkinson's, and could also be applicable to non-motor symptoms.
"It's a great privilege to be a part of the process in deciding to fund projects such as this. This really is at the cutting edge of new research and holds out a lot of hope for alternative solutions."
Understanding the role of neurons and their support cells in the progression of Parkinson's
Lead researcher: Dr Javier Alegre-Abarrategui, Imperial College London
Funding awarded: £423,257
One of the biggest challenges in Parkinson's is that a protein called alpha-synuclein forms sticky clumps inside brain cells, which spread and cause damage in other cells. The research team will explore how these toxic clumps move between neurons and different helper cells, including astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
They'll do this by analysing tissue from the Parkinson's UK Brain Bank to see why some helper cells stay healthy while others are lost. The project aims to improve our understanding of how Parkinson's spreads across different cells in the brain, and could help bring to light new targets for drug treatments that halt the spread of damage.
Javier said: "I am incredibly grateful to Parkinson's UK and to everyone affected by Parkinson's whose support makes research like this possible. This funding will allow us to test and refine a new way of mapping how Parkinson's progresses through the brain by studying not only neurons, but also the support cells that help keep them healthy.
"We hope this work will improve our understanding of why Parkinson's varies so much between individuals and help lay the foundations for more targeted treatments in the future."
How do Parkinson's genes affect mitochondria in brain cells?
Lead researcher: Dr Brent Ryan, University of Oxford
Funding awarded: £296,526
Inside our brain cells are microscopic 'batteries' called mitochondria that provide the cell with energy. But in Parkinson's, they can stop working properly. While scientists have linked many genes to an increased risk of Parkinson's, we still don't understand how these genes damage our cell batteries. This makes it hard to predict why the condition behaves so differently and progresses faster in some people than others.
The research team will explore how different genes linked to Parkinson's affect the health of mitochondria in brain cells grown in the lab. They aim to do this by using advanced cameras to take detailed pictures and create a unique "fingerprint" of the cell batteries. Finally, they'll compare these laboratory findings with real-life clinical and genetic data from people living with Parkinson's. This could help researchers predict who will benefit most from treatments targeting mitochondria.
Brent said: "We're incredibly grateful to Parkinson's UK for supporting this research, which brings together laboratory scientists and clinicians to better understand why Parkinson's affects people in different ways.
"Using new technology we've developed, we'll investigate how the many different genetic factors associated with Parkinson's influence the health of mitochondria in brain cells, and connect what we discover in the laboratory with information from people living with Parkinson's. We hope this will reveal new biology that is relevant across Parkinson's and ultimately help identify new treatment targets and which approaches may work best for different people."
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