Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

UK Researchers Receive $1.2M to Find Parkinson's Biomarkers

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The UK's National Institute for Health Research said on Wednesday that a team of researchers has received £750,000 ($1.2 million) in funding from Parkinson's UK to search for biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid.

The grant was awarded to researchers from NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Units in Cambridge, Oxford, London, and Newcastle, and UK and US biotechnology companies. Simon Lovestone, director of the NIHR Dementia Translational Research Collaboration, is leading the research, which is leveraging blood samples and data collected from a Parkinson's UK-funded study called "Tracking Parkinson's" begun in 2012.

"This study is very important as finding Parkinson's biomarkers could be essential to developing future treatments," Lovestone said in a statement. "We've seen huge leaps in other conditions like some forms of cancer, where biomarkers have been identified, and a blood test for Alzheimer's is now looking hopeful. We need to do the same for Parkinson's."

The NIHR Dementia Translational Research Collaboration, a government initiative, brings together NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Units to improve treatment for and care of patients with dementia and dementia-related conditions.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.