U of S-Led Team Awarded $450,000 to Search for New Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Treatments

Posted July 11, 2005


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Monday, July 11, 2005 2005-07-04-OTHER

U of S-Led Team Awarded $450,000 to Search for New Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's Treatments

A Canadian research team led by University of Saskatchewan cell biologist
Helen Nichol will use the Canadian Light Source synchrotron to search for
new ways to treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, backed with $450,000
from the federal Collaborative Health Research Project (CHRP) program.

"This initiative illustrates how expertise from widely different disciplines
can be brought to bear to tackle society's toughest challenges," said U of S
Vice-President Research Steven Franklin. "It also highlights the unique
research capacity at the University of Saskatchewan offered by the Canadian
Light Source."

Common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's affect
more than 20 million people world wide and are the fourth leading cause of
death and major disability among adults in Western societies.

Over the next three years, the team will use synchrotron light to analyze
the location and chemical form of metals in the brains of fruit flies. They
will examine flies that carry the genes that cause neurodegenerative disease
in humans, from the early stages before cells die until the disease in the
fly's brain is advanced.

Nichol is collaborating with Gabrielle Boulianne from Toronto's Hospital for
Sick Children, Ian Meinertzhagen from Dalhousie University in Halifax, and U
of S Canada Research Chairs Ingrid Pickering and Graham George.

Boulianne is a leading Canadian Drosophila (fruit fly) geneticist and expert
in fly models of Amylotropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's
disease). She will raise flies that have been genetically altered to exhibit
features of each human disease. Nichol will use synchrotron X-ray light to
determine the location and chemical forms of iron, zinc and copper in the
brains of each fly model. Meinertzhagen, a former Killam professor in
neuroscience, will use his expertise in Drosophila brain structure and
high-resolution and 3-D imaging techniques to assess pathological changes in
flies and what protection therapeutic drugs can provide against such
changes. George and Pickering will contribute their world-leading expertise
in new synchrotron imaging techniques.

While iron, zinc, and copper are essential micronutrients, they can
contribute to the destruction of brain cells when present in excess or in
toxic chemical forms. The team will develop a rapid screening method that
will eventually enable them to test the ability of various therapeutic drugs
to prevent metal-induced damage. Ultimately, they hope their work will help
to forge links with pharmaceutical companies to develop new therapies for
these devastating diseases.

The CHRP grant is part of $5.4 million awarded to 16 research teams across
the country announced today in Ottawa by Industry Minister David Emerson and
Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh. The CHRP program is a joint initiative of the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

"To succeed at improving the health of Canadians, we must encourage people
with diverse expertise to focus their energy on solving today's health
challenges," said Minister Dosanjh. "A multidisciplinary approach to health
research leads to better public health, innovation and economic growth."

For more information on the Canadian Light Source, the national synchrotron
facility at the University of Saskatchewan, visit www.lightsource.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Helen Nichol
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-4094
h.nichol@usask.ca
http://www.usask.ca/anatomy/people/nichol.shtml

Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2427
michael.robin@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research