Movement Disorder Group

Hans Nissbrandt, Filip Bergquist, Gunilla Jonason, Haydeh Niazi Shahabi, Anna Håkansson, and Daniel Andersson.

The research of our group is divided into a pre-clinical and a clinical part. The aim of the pre-clinical research is to gain further knowledge of central dopamine neurotransmission, with focus on cell bodies/dendrites in the substantia nigra (SN). It is now established that dopamine is released locally in the SN as well as from terminals in the striatum. The physiological relevance of this somatodendritic dopamine in relation to the more extensive terminal release is however yet to be elucidated. Utilising several techniques, including microdialysis, motor performance evaluation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) measurements, we will continue our studies on release, metabolism, and physiological importance of dopamine as well as the potential of these neurons to generate toxic substances.

The aim of the clinical part of the project is to search for genes that are of importance for the aetiology of Parkinson's disease (PD), both in patients with sporadic PD and in cases with a family history. To date we have access to blood samples from approximately 550 patients (including controls) and will within a year include another 350 patients. Up to now we have investigated 16 polymorphisms in 12 different genes and found two promising associations with age of onset of PD. We intend to continue with further association studies and are also planning to start with linkage studies on families with multiple affected members.

Results obtained from our research may increase the knowledge of pathophysiological features of PD that may initiate the development of new therapeutic strategies, including those of neuronal cytoprotection.