An international research team led by Dr. Anthony Lang, a neurologist and Senior Scientist at UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute, has proposed a new model for classifying Parkinson’s disease (PD).
In recent decades, researchers have uncovered several biological factors that underlie PD. Key factors include a build-up of the protein α-synuclein in the brain, which leads to neuron degeneration, and genetic factors that increase one’s risk of developing the disease. They have also begun to develop reliable methods to test for these factors, called biomarkers, in living patients.
Despite these advancements, doctors still diagnose the disease based on clinical features, such as the presence of tremors and other common motor symptoms.
According to Dr. Lang, who is also the Lily Safra Chair in Movement Disorders at UHN, and the Jack Clark Chair for Parkinson’s Disease Research and a professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, this traditional approach to diagnosing PD does not account for the complex biological processes at play.
“We know Parkinson’s exists in the brain for one to two decades, or longer, before the clinical manifestations present,” says Dr. Lang. “So, we believe current research must be driven by biological determinants of the disease, rather than limited clinical descriptions of its signs and symptoms.
“We need a radically different way of looking at this disease.”
In a recent article published in Lancet Neurology, Dr. Lang’s team proposed a new, biologically based model for classifying PD, called “SynNeurGe” (pronounced synergy.)
The model emphasizes the important interactions between three biological factors that contribute to the disease:
- the presence of pathologic α-synuclein in the brain (S);
- evidence of neurodegeneration, which occurs as the disease progresses (N); and
- the presence of gene variants that cause or strongly predispose a person to the disease (G).
“With this new model, Dr. Lang is spearheading a truly pivotal international effort to redefine the biological complexity of Parkinson’s disease, which will lead to more advanced and streamlined research in this area, and ultimately, to precision medicine for patients.”
Dr. Jaideep Bains, co-Director of UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute
Learn more about this breakthrough and its potential impact for patients on the UHN website
A ‘radically different’ way of looking at Parkinson’s disease
Dr. Anthony E Lang is a Professor at the University of Toronto where he holds the Jack Clark Chair for Parkinson’s Disease Research. He is the Director of the Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson’s Disease and the Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic and the and holds the Lily Safra Chair in Movement Disorders at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. He has published over 700 peer-reviewed papers and over 100 book chapters and is one of the most highly cited investigators in the field of Movement Disorders.
https://www.uhnresearch.ca/researcher/anthony-e-lang
