Approved Research

Genetic and environmental analysis of age-at-onset, penetrance, rate of progression and comorbidities in neurodegenerative disorders

Lay summary

People with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neuron disease have few treatment options at present. Ideal treatments would protect individuals from the onset of disease, or slow the progression of disease once it has taken hold, allowing patients to lead independent lives for longer. In addition it is important to address co-morbidities such as pain, which reduce quality of life. The research we proposes with use genetic and data analysis tools to identify factors such as genes which delay the age at disease onset, protect people with risk genes from developing the disease, slow the rate of cognitive decline, or treat co-morbidities such as pain. If these factors, such as specific genes or environmental factors, are identified, they would become attractive for the development of novel treatments.