Off to find Dr. Wustman and Dr. Clark to see what is going on with this!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brandon Wustman, PhD, and Sean Clark, PhD, of Amicus Therapeutics will attempt to develop drugs that take advantage of a possible genetic link between Parkinson’s and Gaucher’s disease. Gaucher’s disease is an inherited deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase, which results in the buildup of a toxic substance in parts of the body including the spleen, liver and bones; carriers of the mutation for this disorder have a significantly elevated risk of developing PD. Drs. Wustman and Clark will test a compound known to stabilize glucocerebrosidase for its ability to block Parkinson’s and Gaucher’s pathology. They will also look for interactions between glucocerebrosidase and alpha-synuclein, a protein whose clumping is a hallmark of PD pathology.
What a fantastic lead! I hope it pays off. Amicus sounds like a company, so they probably have a time to market. (University research can be a bit open-ended.) We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed in North Carolina for you.
Cristina’s last blog post..In Good Hands
This is so exciting. I’ve always admired him. He’s a great person all and all. Sending you well wishes and don’t forget to take care of Mommy 🙂
Chronic Chick
Chronic Chick Talk’s last blog post..Documenting Memories of a Lifetime
This is sounding great! Michael J Fox is a wonderful man. He has PD, and instead of being depressed, he is trying to make a change in the world.
Alisha’s last blog post..It’s Baby Picture Sunday!
let me know if you need a hand emailing anyone or whatever!