Research of Biomarkers in Parkinson Disease (Genepark)

Employ innovative haemogenomic approaches to determine gene expression signatures specific for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). There is currently no specific clinical or laboratory diagnostic test available for PD. In GENEPARK, blood samples from patients with genetic PD and idiopathic PD will be analysed by microarrays to identify gene expression signatures specific for PD. The specificity of the new biomarkers for PD will be tested by the analysis of patients with atypical parkinsonisms, including multiple system atrophy (MSA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD), as well as in patients with other basal ganglia disorders such as Huntington's disease (HD) and dopa responsive dystonia (DRD). The validated gene expression signatures will be utilised to develop a new test for diagnosis of idiopathic PD. Determine correlation between gene expression signatures and different stages of PD.

Gene expression in presymptomatic and symptomatic patients with genetic forms of PD as well as patients in various stages of idiopathic PD will be analysed to identify gene expression signatures specific for various stages of the disease. It should be emphasised that since no clinical measures are present in presymptomatic genetic PD such molecular markers could serve as surrogate markers to monitor therapeutic efficacy of possible preventive treatments in PD. Determine correlations between gene expression signatures and morphological evidence of neurodegenerative process in PD brain as determined by neuroimaging. Gene expression signatures identified in blood samples will be correlated with changes in brain as detected by neuroimaging in PD patients. Such correlations of molecular and morphological markers of disease will facilitate the selection of blood markers in relation to disease progression. Moreover, molecular and morphological markers of disease progression could be utilised in combination for monitoring the effects of new neuroprotective therapies for PD. Develop standardised approaches to development and validation of haemogenomic biomarkers.

This objective will be achieved by the special emphasis on careful clinical selection of patients, sufficient power regarding patient numbers, as well as extensive quality control and validation of the data. Develop new bioinformatic software tools for selection of genomic biomarkers using microarray data. The aim of the GENEPARK is to develop the theoretical foundations and to build the software tools for sample classification and selection of genomic biomarkers using microarray data. The established computational tools and novel methods developed within the GENEPARK will be applied to the patient data to study advantages and limitations of different methodologies.