The source of this article is Red Nova: http://tinyurl.com/878ys
Michael J. Fox Foundation Awards Approximately $2 Million For Four
Parkinson's Clinical Studies
NEW YORK, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michael J. Fox Foundation for
Parkinson's Research (MJFF) announced today that it has awarded
approximately $2 million to researchers to carry out four clinical studies
under its recently launched Clinical Discovery Program. The Clinical
Discovery Program is intended to stimulate well-designed clinical research
projects focused on potentially high-impact approaches to the field of
Parkinson's disease. Funding for the program was made possible by a gift
from The Pioneer Fund, a private family foundation that supports endeavors
including medical research.
"The Fox Foundation's innovative approach to accelerating a cure for
Parkinson's reflects the pioneering spirit of our founder, philanthropist
Helen M. McLoraine," said Scott Hamilton, Olympic gold medalist and Pioneer
Fund Board member. "We are impressed that The Michael J. Fox Foundation is
a lean organization that has chosen not to build an endowment, but instead
to disperse the money they raise quickly to researchers on the front line."
The Pioneer Fund is a private family foundation established by Helen M.
McLoraine, a pioneer who broke new ground for women by assuming leadership
roles in the oil and gas business in the 1950s. Influenced by her mother,
Mrs. McLoraine established The Pioneer Fund to continue her lifelong
support of projects and organizations that focus on medical research,
education and social welfare. As a philanthropist, Mrs. McLoraine also
supported more than 50 amateur skaters including Scott Hamilton.
Currently, there is limited funding available for researchers to carry out
small-to-medium sized innovative clinical research projects applying
current knowledge regarding Parkinson's disease directly to patients and
patient care.
"The Foundation is working to bridge the disparity that exists between
scientists who don't have the resources to validate their hypotheses in the
clinic and industry that has no incentive to support projects before a
hypothesis is validated because it's too much of a risk," said Deborah W.
Brooks, president and chief executive officer of The Michael J. Fox
Foundation for Parkinson's Research. "We've taken a strategic look at
roadblocks to new therapies and this was one of several areas where we
think we can make a difference."
The Foundation awarded a grant to a team in China to carry out the
first-ever multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study
to investigate the safety, tolerability and potential neuroprotective
effects of green tea polyphenols in people with Parkinson's disease. The
team will work in collaboration with Foundation Scientific Advisory Board
member Caroline M. Tanner, MD, PhD who has extensive clinical expertise. If
successful, the study could lead to the development of an inexpensive,
non-pharmaceutical therapy to slow or stop the progression of the disease.
Green tea polyphenols are natural anti-oxidants found in green tea and used
in many countries for the treatment of heart disease and cancer. The study
will enroll approximately 400 people with early stage Parkinson's disease.
A network of Parkinson's research centers and the Chinese Ministry of
Health will collaborate on the project.
Another grant recipient will test a novel strength training technique to
improve respiration and swallowing in people who have developed dysphagia,
a common condition experienced by people with Parkinson's disease that
occurs when the muscles that are involved in swallowing weaken or do not
work properly. People with dysphagia have trouble swallowing and are at
increased risk of inhaling food or liquids into the airways, which can lead
to a condition known as "aspiration pneumonia" -- the leading cause of
death in people with Parkinson's.
Given that currently there are no treatments for dysphagia, this pilot
study has the potential to have an immediate impact on patient care.
Two other teams are using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging in
novel ways to quantify changes in the brain associated with the onset of
Parkinson's disease and co-morbid conditions. One project seeks to quantify
reductions in cortical acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity (cholinergic
deficits) that occur in people with Parkinson's and Parkinson's-associated
dementia. Researchers believe that reductions in AChEs may be responsible
for cognitive impairment commonly seen in people with Parkinson's.
Dopaminergic therapies don't reverse cognitive impairment, suggesting that
targeting the cholinergic system could be beneficial. AChEs are currently
used to treat people with Alzheimer's but may be even more valuable for
people with Parkinson's.
The other project will use PET imaging to compare the blood brain barrier
of people with Parkinson's disease to those who do not have the disease. It
is hypothesized that biochemical changes that occur in the blood brain
barrier of people with Parkinson's could allow greater accumulation of
environmental toxins in the brain. If researchers are able to quantify
these changes they may be able to identify people with the disease early
and to track disease progression, as well as enable the targeted
development of therapies that may restore normal blood brain barrier function.
The Clinical Discovery Program is an investigator-initiated, peer-reviewed
program that provides funding for clinical research projects over the
course of up to three years. Continuation of funding will be dependent upon
the achievement of mutually agreed upon milestones. A scientific review
committee consisting of biostatisticians, clinicians, clinical trial
experts and others reviewed all applications.
The following is a complete list of researchers who were awarded grants
under the Clinical Discovery Program initiative:
Nicolaas I. Bohnen, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh Executive,
ADL and Cholinergic Functions in PD Piu Chan, MD, PhD Xuanwu
Hospital of Capital University of Medical Sciences A Randomized,
Double-blind, and Placebo-control Study to Assess the Ability of Slowing
Disease Progression and Safety and Tolerability of Green Tea Polyphenols
in Patients With Early Parkinson's Disease K.L. Leenders, MD,
PhD University Medical Centre Groningen P-glycoprotein Dysfunction of
the Blood-brain Barrier in Parkinson's Disease Christine Sapienza,
PhD University of Florida Strength Training Patients With Parkinson's
Disease for Dysphagia
To date, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has
invested approximately $52 million in research aimed at finding a cure for
the disease. For more information on The Michael J. Fox Foundation for
Parkinson's Research, visit http://www.michaeljfox.org/.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
CONTACT: Dana MacNaughton, +1-212-509-0995, ext.
242,[log in to unmask]; Katie Hood, +1-212-509-0995, ext.
231,[log in to unmask]
Web site: http://www.michaeljfox.org/
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