Volunteers are needed to help researchers unlock the secrets to Parkinson's disease.
Griffith University's Professor George Mellick has been leading a breakthrough study into the the non-inherited changes in genes which can help scientists better understand the interactions between genes and the environment, and how they influence complex diseases like Parkinson's.
Currently there are no treatments to prevent, reverse or cure the Parkinson's disease, which impacts moe than 100,000 Australians.
Professor Mellick set up the Queensland Parkinson's Project at the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery almost 20 years ago. The platform is a collaborative bank of information and samples from Parkinson's patients in Queensland.
"As our population ages it's expected that there will be double the prevalence of Parkinson's disease within the next 20 years," Professor Mellick said.
"It's imperative that we do everything we can to develop new treatments and work towards a cure."
His group focuses on identifying the cause of Parkinson's in each patient. As symptoms and rates of progression vary widely, the disease is not the same for everyone.
Professor Mellick said research suggests there are sub-types of Parkinson's and identifying these, and associated biomarkers, is the first step towards targeted treatment for individual patients.
His team recently completed the first large epigenome-wide study to compare changes between people with, and without, Parkinson's. (Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression, rather than alteration of the genetic code itself.)
The researchers studied the epigenetic changes in blood cells from samples taken from around 2000 people.
"This is, by far, the most comprehensive study of epigenetics in Parkinson's disease done anywhere," Professor Mellick said.
"While the DNA sequence of genes (the genetic code) controls the structure and function of each cell, there are chemical modifications to the DNA (known as epigenetic tags) that determine which genes are turned on or off in the cell.
"These epigenetic changes are not 'inherited' in the same way as DNA but can be influenced by things like the environment you live in."
Professor Mellick said some epigenetic changes may occur when people are exposed to certain toxins. While it was an early finding, he said the results give hope to being able to identify risk-inducing environmental factors and modify them to reduce the effect of Parkinson's.
"One suggestion is that these epigenetic changes reflect a history of exposure to something in the environment that increases the risk for Parkinson's. This fits with our current understanding that exposure to high levels of herbicides and pesticides is a risk factor."
To find out more about the project click HERE
READ MORE: