Torsten Falk
University of Arizona, AZ·Pharmacology
Most people with Parkinson's disease (PD) eventually develop dementia, yet no adequate drug exists to slow this cognitive decline. Peptides, which are short chains of amino acids, are attractive drugs because they break down safely in the body.
- Fields
Pharmacology
Neuroscience
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
Parkinson's disease
dementia
cognitive decline
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2028
What they work on
- Test whether the glycopeptide PNA5 improves memory and thinking deficits in male mice injected with alpha-synuclein preformed fibrils, compared with scrambled-glycopeptide and vehicle controls, using behavioral tests.
- Determine whether PNA5 reduces alpha-synuclein pathology and brain inflammation, using molecular and tissue analyses after behavioral testing.
- Evaluate cytokines in brain and plasma, especially MIP-1B, as blood biomarkers showing that PNA5 has reached and engaged its target.
- Test for sex-specific effects of PNA5 in intact and ovariectomized female mice that model pre- and post-menopausal women, using the same behavioral and molecular analyses.
More about the research
However, they usually last only briefly in the bloodstream and enter the brain poorly. Adding sugars to a peptide can make it more stable and better able to reach the brain. This project tests whether such a sugar-modified peptide could protect thinking and memory in Parkinson's disease.
Why it matters
About 80% of people with Parkinson's disease develop dementia, and no adequate medication exists. If PNA5 eases cognitive decline in mice, these studies could support clinical trials of this glycopeptide in people with Parkinson's disease dementia. They could also identify a blood marker, such as MIP-1B, to confirm the drug is acting, and reveal whether men and women respond differently.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Serge Przedborski
Columbia University, NY·Neuroscience
Evaluate whether virus-delivered anti-α-Syn single-chain antibody fragments (scFvs) improve gut function and reduce gut pathology in transgenic L61 mice, which overproduce alpha-synuclein, using GI function tests and tissue analysis.
Meredith Hay
University of Arizona, AZ·Pharmacology
Conduct six-month chronic toxicology studies in two animal species to define the safety profile and toxicokinetics (how drug levels change in the body over time) of PNA5, a brain-penetrating Mas receptor-activating peptide, given by injection under the skin.
Mohammad Shahnawaz
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX·Neuroscience
Detect and amplify small amounts of alpha-synuclein strains from body fluids and brain tissue of patients with Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy and dementia with Lewy bodies, using the seeding-based PMCA (RT-QuIC) assay.
The school
University of Arizona: 36 labs on PI Pages, $1.0B a year on research, 487 research doctorates a year.
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