Michael J. Fox Foundation to Explore Parkinson's Disease in India, Other Countries

Sept. 9, 2019    India-West Staff Reporter

File photo of Michael J. Fox speaking at the Tribeca Talks - Storytellers - 2019 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC on April 30, 2019 in New York City. (Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research Aug. 27 announced grants totaling nearly $5 million to three teams expanding genetic research in international Parkinson's disease populations including in India.

Genetics has revolutionized disease understanding, measurement and therapeutic development, but most studies to date have included only individuals of European descent, the release said.

The new initiative builds on research in Africa, East Asia and India to better define Parkinson's and point to new treatment options for the millions of people worldwide who live with the disease, it said.

An international team including partners at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, the Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Applied Biometry at the University of Tübingen in Germany, and academic centers across India plan to gather and analyze data and samples from 10,000 people with Parkinson's and 10,000 control volunteers as part of the India grant.

This partnership is built out of the existing Luxembourg-German-Indian Alliance on Neurodegenerative Diseases and Therapeutics consortium, the release noted.

"While the field has made significant strides in genetic research, we know we have much more to learn about the changes in DNA that lead to Parkinson's disease and impact its progression," said MJFF senior vice president of research programs Brian Fiske in a statement. "This is an all-star initiative with world-class geneticists, clinic networks and study volunteers coming together to paint a global picture of Parkinson's and work toward cures for everyone."

Scientists identified the first genetic mutation associated with Parkinson's in 1997 and have since found more than 80 genetic differences increasing risk for the disease to varying degrees.

By studying the cellular effects of these changes, researchers better understand Parkinson's pathology and are developing therapies against it. Drugs designed to target several proteins linked to Parkinson's through genetic discoveries are already in clinical trials, according to the foundation.

This global Parkinson's genetics program — funded with support from longtime partner the Edmond J. Safra Foundation — seeks to build on that progress.

This global genetics program links The Michael J. Fox Foundation's longstanding support of genetic research projects and its goals to address diversity and inclusivity in clinical studies, it said.

The foundation supports numerous investigations into the genetics of Parkinson's disease and translation of genetic findings into therapeutics addressing individual biology. Additional funded initiatives are developing and testing strategies for engaging underrepresented populations — based on ethnicity, sex and socioeconomic status — in clinical and genetic research, the release said.

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