Our Research

The causes of Parkinson's disease are not known. This information is vital to our development of diagnostic tests to predict Parkinson’s disease and of treatments to prevent Parkinson's disease or to slow its progression. It is the goal of our research to discover the causes of Parkinson's disease.

Overview

The cardinal symptoms and signs of Parkinson's disease are slowness of movement, tremor, and stiffness or rigidity of the limbs. This movement disorder results from a progressive degeneration of the brain, with a selective loss of the brain cells that produce the chemical "dopamine". Roughly two percent of the population will develop Parkinson's disease (lifetime risk). Currently there is no diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease. Physicians make diagnoses based upon a clinical examination.

At autopsy, examination of the brain reveals characteristic intracytoplasmic inclusions (“balls of protein”) within degenerating neurons (Lewy bodies), which are the pathologic hallmark of this disease.