Neuroscientist Matthew Sacheli is researching how exercise helps alleviate symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Inspired by observing a patient whose symptoms improved with exercise, he is studying the brain’s response to physical activity. Using PET and fMRI imaging, he aims to identify how exercise influences dopamine release and which brain regions are involved.
Naila Kuhlmann, a graduate student at the University of British Columbia, is studying the plasticity of neurons in the striatum, a brain region affected in Parkinson’s disease. She focuses on the effects of LRRK2 gene mutations, a common genetic cause of the disease, on neuron structure. Specifically, she examines dendrites and spines, which are key to neural communication. Kuhlmann aims to understand how these structural changes impact dopamine transmission and how early interventions targeting these changes could prevent or slow Parkinson’s progression.
Chelsie Kadgien, a researcher focused on Parkinson’s disease, is studying how mutant forms of the VPS35 protein might affect brain cell communication. She believes that these mutations cause cells to have too many receptors, leading to an overload of communication, which ultimately exhausts and kills the cells. By confirming this theory using cell cultures and animal models, she hopes to pave the way for new treatments.
Charles Ducrot, a PhD student at the University of Montreal, is investigating the role of synapses in the vulnerability of dopamine-producing neurons in Parkinson’s disease. He theorizes that neurons in the brain’s ventral tegmental area (VTA) survive longer than those in the substantia nigra due to forming more glutamate synapses, which allow better communication and survival signals.
In recent years, researchers have made significant progress in identifying genetic causes of familial Parkinson’s disease, focusing on how gene mutations affect brain cell communication. Austen Milnerwood, a neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia, is studying how these mutations disrupt normal brain activity, particularly mutations in the LRRK2 gene, which cause brain cells to become hyperactive.
Neuroscientist Mattia Volta at the University of British Columbia is investigating the relationship between the proteins alpha-synuclein and LRRK2 in Parkinson’s disease. Using animal models missing the LRRK2 protein, Volta has found that mice without LRRK2 are protected from cognitive impairments and memory loss caused by alpha-synuclein clumps. He is now exploring whether the absence of LRRK2 also prevents motor problems and disease progression in Parkinson’s.
Balance issues leading to falls are a significant challenge for people with Parkinson’s disease, not resolved by current treatments. At the University of British Columbia, neuroscientist Mark Carpenter is studying why balance problems persist and whether they are controlled by different brain regions than other motor functions.
Dr. Daryl Wile, a neurologist at the University of British Columbia, is working on developing an early diagnostic test for Parkinson’s disease using Positron Emission Tomography (PET). He aims to identify brain changes in people with a mutated LRRK2 gene before they develop symptoms like tremors or rigidity. By studying neurotransmitter activity in the brain, Wile hopes to understand how Parkinson’s progresses early on.
Graduate student Paul Cocker, at the University of British Columbia, is exploring the potential of blocking dopamine D4 receptors to reduce compulsive behaviors like gambling, shopping, and hypersexuality, which affect some people with Parkinson’s disease as a side effect of dopamine-replacement drugs. Using a rodent model, Cocker aims to determine if inhibiting these receptors can alleviate such behaviors, without affecting the medication’s ability to treat motor symptoms.
