Understanding the molecular basis of Parkinson's disease, identification of biomarkers and routes to therapy

Although the precise etiology of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease remains unknown, in 5-10% of cases a hereditary component is apparent and many of the associated proteins have been described. Ongoing studies are aimed at identifying binding partners, substrates, post-translational modifications and cellular pathways affected by these proteins, which, when disrupted, lead to development of the disease. The knowledge gained is of paramount importance, as the targeting of these protein-protein cascades and cellular complexes offer the best opportunity to develop new therapeutic strategies. At the same time there is considerable work aimed at identifying biomarkers to enable population screening to identify those at an early stage of the disease, and to monitor disease progression. Success or failure will be highly dependent on adopting both strict standard operating procedures for the collection, processing and storage of samples, as well as suitable techniques for the isolation, purification and identification of candidate proteins.