Detecting Parkinson’s Disease Sooner with Biomarker Research

On this episode of Advances in Care, host Erin Welsh and Dr. Serge Przedborski, Chief of the Division of Movement Disorders at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia, discuss what happens in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Przedborski came to Columbia thirty two years ago and has spent that time researching why some neurons in the brain die while others live in people who suffer from the condition – and he’s learned a lot. With the help of the New York Brain Bank at Columbia, his lab has been able to map out what the neuronal patterns of death look like with the goal of using these brain maps to develop novel treatments that seek to address the progression of Parkinson’s rather than just treating the symptoms, which is how all current treatments work.

Dr. Przedborksi also shares updates on new gene therapies that are being investigated across the institution to replace Deep Brain Stimulation – a common treatment for Parkinson’s where a wire is placed in the brain. While these gene therapy treatments are still invasive, the technology behind them is constantly improving and will likely lead to significant benefits to patients

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Dr. Przedborski’s ongoing research aims at understanding the contributions of cell-autonomous and non cell-autonomous mechanisms to neurodegeneration using both toxic and genetic experimental models of Parkinson’s Disease and ALS. In keeping with this goal, how alterations in mitochondrial biology, especially of mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy, provoke degeneration of specific subpopulations of neurons is one of the main areas of research in the Przedborski laboratory. To what extent and by which mechanisms do non-neuronal cells, like microglia and astrocytes, participate in the demise of neurons in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s and ALS, represent a second main line of research in this laboratory. These research efforts are supported by federal grants from both NIH and the DoD as well as by several private agencies such as the Parkinson's Disease Foundation and the Thomas Hartman Foundation.

For more information visit nyp.org/Advances