Together with our partners at The Michael J. Fox Foundation we are excited to announced funding for two new Parkinson’s research grants at The University of Queensland.
TARGETING THE BODY’S CIRCADIAN CLOCK TO IMPROVE SLEEP QUALITY IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Award Date: April 2021
Duration: 24 Months
Institution: University of Queensland
Researchers: Oliver Rawashdeh, PhD, Dr Richard Gordon
Award Date: April 2021
Duration: 18 Months
Institution: The University of Queensland, Australia and Queen’s University, Belfast
Researchers: Dr Richard Gordon, Dr Rebecca Coll and Dr Nanthini Jayabalan
In Parkinson’s disease (PD) immune cells in the brain, gut and blood become persistently activated due the accumulation of synuclein aggregates and other mechanisms, which can trigger inflammation. Ongoing inflammation is accompanied by changes in the gut microbiome of people with PD. Both these processes have been shown to contribute to the gradual death of dopamine-producing cells in the brain. Therefore, halting the cycle of inflammation, microbiome dysfunction and brain cell death is considered a promising means by which to slow or stop disease progression. Our study will test a new approach by which to accomplish this.
