Scientific Achievements

The Parkinson’s Research Foundation Scientific Achievements in Parkinson’s Research

From its establishment in 2001 through December 2012, The Parkinson’s Research Foundation has provided over $46 million for research to find the causes, delay the onset and find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. During this time, we’ve made major progress towards those goals. Significant accomplishments directly due to Foundation funding include:

–Continuing fundamental discoveries about the function of “master molecule” DARPP-32 that will lay the groundwork for new treatments. Read more

–Fine tuning our understanding of the signaling pathways within dopamine neurons. Read more

–Developing new imaging techniques for detecting changes in the Parkinson’s disease brain at the earliest stages of the disease.  Read more

– Investigating non-dopamine related symptoms, such as mood disorders, and the impact they have on patients and families. Read more

– Refining the conditions needed for developing techniques to transplant therapeutic cells into the brain, based on research in animal models of Parkinson’s disease.  Read more

– Investigating genes that protect some dopamine neurons and genes that put other dopamine neurons at risk. Read more