Hot Topics@PD Therapeutics 2009

The Therapeutics Conference was packed and full of quite lively discussion - over the next several days we will post video and audio from the conference, and here is the place for attendees to continue the discussion, and for people who did not get a chance to attend to join in.

Responses:
MJFF Therapeutics Conference 9/30/2009: Morning Session 1 hot topics
Michael T Rogan, et al.
1 Oct 2009 11:35 AM EST
A more detailed report of the Q&A sessions around these talks will follow over the next several days - in the mean time, here are some highlights: ... 
Responses: 1
Discussion at PD Therapeutics: Does the right patient population make all the difference? How late is too late?
Holli Kawadler, MJFF
1 Oct 2009 01:15 PM EST
How do you decide which patients are the best population to study novel disease-modifying or preventative therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's disease? ... 
MJFF Therapeutics Conference 9/30/2009: Morning Session 2 hot topics
Michael T Rogan
1 Oct 2009 01:54 PM EST
David Standaert described a fascinating path taken from discovery in worms to mammalian PD models by VPS41, a protein involved in lysosomal trafficking that is emerging as a useful target for the ... 
MJFF Therapeutics Conference 9/30/2009: Afternoon Session 1
Michael T Rogan
1 Oct 2009 04:24 PM EST
Krystof Bankiewicz described efforts by his lab and colleagues in improving the effectiveness of intraparenchymal delivery of AAV vectors using concurrent imaging and convection enhanced infusion ... 
Is lowering alpha-synuclein beneficial?
Mark Frasier, MJFF
1 Oct 2009 05:15 PM EST
In response to the presentation from David Bumcrot regarding an siRNA approach to reducing alpha-synuclein levels, there was an interesting discussion about the relevance to this type of approach in ... 
Responses: 1
MJFF Therapeutics Conference 9/30/2009: Afternoon Session 2
Michael T Rogan
1 Oct 2009 05:58 PM EST
The conference ended with 2 talks on challenging topics assigned by MJFF – Franz Hefti and Andrew Singleton took up the challenge. ... 
Responses: 2
Selectivity profiles of small molecules
Mark Frasier, MJFF
1 Oct 2009 06:04 PM EST
An interesting point raised by Jeff Conn during his presentation on mGlur4 allosteric modulators that could be applied to any small molecule program: Often when groups explore the selectivity profile ... 
What's the right clinical endpoint for an alpha-synuclein efficacy trial?
Brian K. Fiske, MJFF
6 Oct 2009 06:00 PM EST
Dr. Hefti's presentation on the 'ingredients' needed for a first efficacy trial of an alpha-synuclein-based therapeutic were of great interest to me. The MJFF has been supporting a number of ... 
Modeling the basal ganglia for improving therapeutic targeting
Brian K. Fiske, MJFF
7 Oct 2009 04:14 PM EST
Dr. Conn's talk got me thinking. The loss of dopaminergic input into the striatum and its impact on basal ganglia function is the fundamental tenet of how we view the underlying basis of PD (motoric) ... 
synuclein gene multiplication evidence
Thomas G Beach, Sun Health
8 Oct 2009 02:11 PM EST
Because extra copies of the alpha-synuclein gene can cause Parkinson's disease, it seems safe to say that too much alpha-synuclein can cause PD and therefore the reverse of this would be that ... 
Confirming the biological impact of associated genes in PD
Brian K. Fiske, MJFF
9 Oct 2009 11:43 AM EST
Dr. Singleton presented some interesting data attempting to link specific genetic loci with biological expression patterns: a protein expression QTL approach. This sort of approach strikes me as ...