2018 participants
Marima Kauser
The Lewy body disease (LBD) spectrum consists of Parkinson’s disease (PD), Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). LBD is the second most common form of neurodegenerative dementia. LBDs are characterised by the accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein and is often investigated by stains that show all alpha-synuclein. However, there are many types of alpha-synuclein and some types seem to be more toxic than others but this information may be overlooked in studies that just study all types of alpha-synuclein at once. Therefore, we have studied many different types of alpha-synuclein in post-mortem brain tissue and found one type that seems to be related to the symptoms experienced by patients and other lesions that occur in the brain in dementia. Identifying this type of alpha-synuclein may be important for identifying new ways to diagnose patients more accurately or as a target for new drugs in LBD.
Funding source: Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre
Supervisor: Prof Mary Johnson