Parkinson's disease may result from exposure to environmental toxins, e.g.: heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, hydrocarbons, and effluent from wood pulp processing. The age of an individual at the onset of Parkinsons may also be determined in part by intrinsic factors, such as the number of dopamine cells (DA) an individual has at birth. The number of DA cells genetically given to an individual may be affected by common maternal prenatal infections (bacterial vaginosis) that produce lipopolysaccharides. This is associated with a lower weight at birth. Low birth weight has been shown to increase the risk of degenerative disease in biologically susceptible individuals. We are identifying patients who have developed Parkinson's disease in a portion of South Carolina to determine where they have lived, to what they have been exposed, and for how long, as well as documenting their birth weight. By mapping the distribution of disease to well defined hydrologic zones in SC, and to known levels of organic and inorganic toxins in the ground water, we shall create a map of environmental toxin dose that should indicate if disease occurrence is related to this exposure and whether it is waterborne. We shall also look at the interaction of this exposure with birth weight and propose a model that environmental toxins interact with individual biological differences to result in an earlier age of onset of PD. This could yield important information concerning the environmental causes of PD. We are also planning to perform brain imaging studies with new investigational agents able to measure the dopamine motor system. We hope that we may detect this disease before the onset of the first clinical symptom. That, combined with investigation of the earliest biochemical and cellular changes in animal models of Parkinson's, may help us determine the specific causes of the disorder and prevent their progression. Research includes: - Microglial activation and minocycline treatment in an animal model of Parkinson's disease. (Granholm, Bhat, & McGinty) Sponsor: MCRPD
- Effects of lipopolysaccharide injections on BDNF and GDNF partial knockout animals. (Rohrer and Granholm) Sponsor: MCRPD
- Ecogenetics and Parkinson's Disease. Sponsor: Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust. Derive data from existing multi-agency databases concerning the location of Parkinson patients in South Carolina, and their economic impact.
- Geographic Variation of Parkinson's Disease in SC: An assessment of risk factors related to hydrologic and other environmental exposures. Sponsor: MRCPD Create a model to explain how environmental toxin exposure and low birth weight predicts the age of onset of Parkinson's disease.
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