Cutting Edge Research at Stanford: Can Skin Cells Be a Biomarker and Lead to a Drug Treatment?

Stanford's APDA Information & Referral Center and Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach coordinate a local Parkinson's Disease (PD) support group in Palo Alto. Pre-pandemic, we met at a senior housing community and, prior to that, at a senior center. During the pandemic, as of March 2021, we are now meeting virtually. Our meetings will highlight local resources.

The August 11, 2021 regular meeting focused on cutting edge, basic science research into PD going on at Stanford. The speaker was:

Xinnan Wang, MD, PhD, Stanford Neurosurgery.

She addressed:

- Why an effective treatment relies on understanding how neurodegeneration occurs
- Biomarkers -- the definition and importance in monitoring PD progression (especially during drug trials)
- Her lab's discovery that a protein called Miro1 found in skin cells is impaired in both hereditary and sporadic Parkinson’s
- The strategy of coupling Miro1-based therapy with a Miro1 diagnostic tool for future clinical trials

[nicholasrisso]

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