Request for Funding

Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2004

Mentor: Padraig O'Suilleabhain MD
Department: Neurology
Room number: J3.134
Mail Code: 9036
Phone number: 87964
E-mail: padraig.osuilleabhain@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: Prospective rates of mental and motor declines in Parkinson's disease as a function of plasma homocysteine

Human subjects IRB approved project number: 0402 220

Project Type: patient-based research

Brief Description of Project: Patients with Parkinson's disease progress at varying rates. Some develop motor disability and dementia and depression, and may do so rapidly, whereas other subjects do not develop these complications or at least do so much more gradually. The factors which determine rate of progression are not known, thus there is no intervention available to slow progression.
My hypothesis is that homocysteine elevation, partly as a metabolic consequence of chronic levodopa ingestion, is a potentially reversible cause of neurodegeneration.
In summer 2002, I assembled a cohort of 100 pts with early PD. Two medical students (Carlos Hernandez now MS2 and Victor Sung now MS3) studied 2 patients each per morning, and compiled and analyzed the database in the afternoon. Each patient performed a series of motor tasks and psychometric tasks and filled out some mood scales and diet surveys. Blood was drawn and tested for homocysteine level.
For the summer of 2004 I want to get the same cohort back (skipped last year because 2 year followup more informative) for repeat testing of the same tasks of mental, motor and mood tasks plus recheck of homocysteine level. Once again the project is appropriate for 2 students.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students: As described above. Victor and Carlos were invited to present the data at a research meeting in Zurich but were unable to go because of school responsibilities. The paper reporting the analyses of the cohort at baseline is under review at a prestigious neurological journal.

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