I HAVE PARKINSON'S DISEASES AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE THE CONTENTS OF UPDATED NEWS IS FOUND IN ONE PLACE. THAT IS WHY I BEGAN THIS BLOG.

I COPY NEWS ARTICLES PERTAINING TO RESEARCH, NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE, DEMENTIA, THE BRAIN, DEPRESSION AND PARKINSON'S WITH DYSTONIA. I ALSO POST ABOUT FUNDRAISING FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND EVENTS. I TRY TO BE UP-TO-DATE AS POSSIBLE.

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR IT'S CONTENTS. I AM JUST A COPIER OF INFORMATION SEARCHED ON THE COMPUTER. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE COPIES ARE JUST THAT, COPIES AND AT TIMES, I AM UNABLE TO ENLARGE THE WORDING OR KEEP IT UNIFORMED AS I WISH. IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND I AM A PERSON WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. I HAVE NO MEDICAL EDUCATION,

I JUST WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU WHAT I READ ON THE INTERNET. IT IS UP TO YOU TO DECIDE WHETHER TO READ IT AND TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR DOCTOR. I AM JUST THE COPIER OF DOCUMENTS FROM THE COMPUTER. I DO NOT HAVE PROOF OF FACT OR FICTION OF THE ARTICLE. I ALSO TRY TO PLACE A LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH ARTICLE TO SHOW WHERE I RECEIVED THE INFORMATION SO THAT YOU MAY WANT TO VISIT THEIR SITE.

THIS IS FOR YOU TO READ AND TO ALWAYS KEEP AN OPEN MIND.

PLEASE DISCUSS THIS WITH YOUR DOCTOR, SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, OR CONCERNS. NEVER DO ANYTHING WITHOUT TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST..

I DO NOT MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THIS WEBSITE. I VOLUNTEER MY TIME TO HELP ALL OF US TO BE INFORMED.

I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY ADVERTISEMENT OR HEALING POWERS, HEALING FROM HERBS AND ETC. UNLESS IT HAS GONE THROUGH TRIALS AND APPROVED BY FDA. IT WILL GO INTO SPAM.

THIS IS A FREE SITE FOR ALL WITH NO ADVERTISEMENTS

THANK YOU FOR VISITING! TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Q-and-A with 23andMe Parkinson’s Community Lead

FoxFeed Blog

Posted by Maggie McGuire, March 25, 2015

Paul Cannon, PhD, leads the 23andMe Parkinson's Community.

Genetic testing company 23andMe made headlines recently with announcements first of a deal with pharmaceutical company Genentechand then of its own new Therapeutics Group.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation has a long-standing relationship with 23andMe, helping recruit members for its Parkinson’s Community study and collaborating on research projects such as our LRRK2 Cohort Consortium.

Paul Cannon, PhD, who leads the 23andMe Parkinson’s Community, spoke with us about the company’s recent news and what it means for Parkinson’s disease (PD) drug development.

MJFF: What can you tell us about the 23andMe partnership with Genentech?

Paul Cannon: The deal with Genentech is a collaboration to whole genome sequence approximately 3,000 individuals with Parkinson’s or with a first-degree relative with PD. (The ratio is yet to be determined.) It’s a unique opportunity to learn more about the genetics of people with Parkinson’s disease and hopefully identify novel targets and biological pathways.

MJFF: How can genomic sequencing lead to new targets and treatments?

PC: It’s obviously the start of a long process, but one of the principle aims is to discover new therapeutic targets for Parkinson’s disease and specifically for disease-modifying therapies. There are a number of interesting therapies in development, but we need more shots on goal.

Through whole genome sequencing, we’ll look for genetic variants such as small deletions or insertions that are difficult to detect with our present mapping-based approach. It’s a more thorough interrogation of the genome made feasible by the decreased cost of whole genome sequencing and the analysis methods that have come along hand-in-hand.

MJFF: What is the difference between genomic sequencing and what you get from the 23andMe spit test?

PC: In whole genome sequencing you’re interrogating the majority of a person’s genome [complete DNA sequence]: every position of the approximately 3 million base pairs that we have in our genome. The single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP pronounced SNIP] genotyping that 23andMe traditionally uses currently interrogates around 650,000 markers on the genome. Those are the mileposts, where sequencing looks at every section of the road.

MJFF: How can people with Parkinson’s disease get involved?

PC: For this study, we’ll be recruiting from the existing 23andMe Parkinson’s Community. We’re defining the genetic and clinical profiles that will give us the highest chance of success, and those individuals will be invited from the existing database.

That said, we encourage those not yet in the 23andMe Parkinson’s Community to join us. There will definitely be future projects; this won’t be our only effort.

MJFF: Speaking of other efforts, 23andMe recently launched its own Therapeutics Group. What can you tell us about the aims there?

PC: It’s very exciting to have the opportunity to work with an in-house team that is focused on development of therapeutics. We’ve obviously worked with commercial partners on drug discovery, and we’ll continue to do so. I’m hoping to work with them on potential projects for Parkinson’s research, but that’s still to be determined.

I can’t speak for them, but they’ll mine interesting data, presumably, and look for opportunities that pop out across the broad spectrum of diseases represented in 23andMe. They’re using human genetics to drive therapeutic discovery and to improve development of drugs by matching patients with the right drugs through the use of genetics.

MJFF: Thanks for your time, Paul. Anything else you want our audience to know?

PC: My pleasure. As a last note, I’d just say that we continue to look to work with partners across the Parkinson’s disease research community. There are opportunities for other collaborations and projects, and we’ll work together to continue to push forward Parkinson’s research, ultimately for a cure.

Learn more about the 23andMe Parkinson’s Community.

https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?and-with-23andme-parkinson-community-lead