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Movement Disorders Research at Farber

Movement disorders, including Huntington's, Parkinson's, ALS, dystonia and ataxia, affect as many as 600 of every 100,000 Americans, and their prevalence is increasing due to the country's aging population. As a group, movement disorders affect motor functions, particularly the abilities to initiate and coordinate movements. Though each disorder is distinct and symptoms vary from person to person, common problems include slowness of movement, trembling or shaking, immobility and gait disorders, and spasticity, or muscle stiffness. Some movement disorders may also be accompanied by cognitive impairments.

In addition to a robust program in Parkinson's disease, Farber scientists are tackling other movement disorders at several levels. Please click on the links below for more information:

• Laboratory Heads Piera Pasinelli and Davide Trotti are applying fundamental understandings about how nerve cells die in neurodegenerative disease to develop better treatments for amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and are laying the groundwork for a completely new approach to treating the disease with a technique known as RNA interference.
  
  
• Farber scientist Diane Merry, Ph.D., investigating how a specific type of genetic mutation causes Kennedy's disease (Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy, or SBMA) and other so-called polyglutamine disorders, and is developing a novel gene therapy method to try to protect motor neurons from disease-related damage.
  
  
• Ya-Ming Hou, Ph.D. is pioneering a promising therapy called RNA interference for potential applications to Huntington's and other hereditary forms of movement disorders.