October 7, 2004
New Neurogenetics Center introduces itself with Oct. 11 symposium open to all
Former Washington Governor Booth Gardner will be at the Health Sciences Center on Monday, Oct. 11, to open a day-long Inaugural Symposium launching the UW’s Center for Neurogenetics and Neurotherapeutics. His remarks will emphasize the importance of research in these areas to citizens of the state and region.
After a greeting by Dr. Albert La Spada, associate professor of laboratory medicine and director of the new center, and introductory remarks by Dr. Paul Ramsey, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, Gardner’s talk will lead off a program of seven presentations by leading researchers and clinicians working to understand and to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
The event begins at 10:30 a.m. in Hogness Auditorium at the Health Sciences Center. There will be a lunch break at 1 p.m., with the afternoon session from 2 to 6 p.m. The symposium is free and registration is not required. For a full updated schedule of presentations, see the Web site at http://depts/washington.edu/neurolog/
Gardner has made his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease public, and has been a supporter of research on the condition.
Many common, as well as rare, conditions are included in the umbrella designation of neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Lou Gerhig’s disease all cause neurons to deteriorate and die. Mad cow disease and its human variant are also considered neurodegenerative diseases.
Some of these diseases are inherited or have familial forms that are inherited. Increasingly, discoveries made by scientists studying these inherited diseases are being applied to the wider range of neurodegenerative conditions.
“We seem to be on the verge of developing enough understanding to find treatments or even cures for at least some of these diseases,” said La Spada, who has been studying diseases caused by trinucleotide repeat expansions—strings of extra nucleotides within proteins. These expansions seem to cause damage by leading to misfolded proteins that can’t function properly, he said.
Misfolded proteins are also part of the picture in mad cow disease and its variants, now believed to be transmitted by prions. But many other pathways for nerve destruction are being investigated, and leading researchers will be talking about several approaches at the symposium.
“This new center will bring together many researchers and programs at the UW with an interest in neurogenetics,” La Spada said, “and we hope it will accelerate progress.
“The challenges are still enormous, but we can see many paths that may lead to the answers we need,” he added.
Twenty-one facuty members are in the original group of affiliates and programs from five School of Medicine departments will be represented.
