Aim Vernon

Local Resident Graduates from Parkinson's ResearchAdvocacy Training Program
Recently, more than forty people livingwith Parkinson's disease (PD) from across the US, including one HighlandLakes resident, participated in the Parkinson's Disease Foundation's(PDF) Second Clinical Research Learning Institute in nearby FlorhamPark. The Learning Institute educated its participants about the waysthat people living with Parkinson's can contribute to new treatments anda cure for the disease.
Local advocate Geraldine Mulligan was amongthe diverse group of business leaders, scientists and educators thattraveled from 24 states to participate. Ms. Mulligan is a retiredbusinesswoman who held positions with both small local businesses and aFortune 500 company in New Jersey. Since she was diagnosed over 10 yearsago with Parkinsons, she has been very involved with her community andchurch. She recently decided to take a more active role withinParkinsons advocacy.
During the training, Ms. Mulligan attendedthree days of courses led by national experts, who covered topics suchas the basics of clinical research and discussed the potential newParkinsons therapies that are currently being studied by scientists.Back home, she is ready to work on a local level to impact thedevelopment of new therapies and to raise awareness among people livingwith Parkinsons about the role that they can play.
Ms. Mulligan,spoke of her experiences, "I learned so much valuable information at theLearning Institute about how people with Parkinsons can impact thedevelopment of new treatments for our disease. I believe that everyoneliving with the disease deserves to have access to this information, so Ihope to work locally spread the word about the importance of clinicalstudies in finding new therapies. As part of this work, I am trying toestablish an active support group in our area, which among other tasks,would serve to raise awareness about clinical studies."
ExecutiveDirector Robin Elliott, commented on the training, "The Parkinson'sDisease Foundation believes that inclusion of the perspective andexperiences of people with Parkinson's has the potential to benefit theclinical research process and therapies development. We are committed toproviding the tools and resources necessary to make this happen inthe hope that the Clinical Research Learning Institute provides thefoundation for these motivated consumers to become engaged and involvedin a process that directly impacts their current quality of life andstrives to find a cure for this debilitating disease."

By DanGoldberg/For The Star-Ledger

DavidGard/New Jersey Local News ServiceEricSellin of Mendham near a replica of the DeLorean from "Back to theFuture" he built. The car is currently on display at the Chatterboxrestaurant in Sussex County. MENDHAM -- It tookalmost 10 months for Mendham resident Eric Sellin to re-fit his DeLoreanwith all the Hollywood trimmings.

The time-display screen flashes three dates where you are going,where you are and where you were. And yes, there is a flux capacitor.

It wont take you through time not without the requisite 1.21giggawatts - but its as real as the one from Back to the Future, theblockbuster trilogy that debuted in 1985.

The tricked-out DeLorean, complete with a California license platethat reads OUTATIME, is currently on display inside the Chatterboxrestaurant in Frankford Township, Sussex County.
DavidGard/New Jersey Local News ServiceEricSellin of Mendham built a replica of the DeLorean from Back to theFuture.
This is one of those things that is just tons of fun, said Don Hall,who owns the Chatterbox. The customers love it.

It cost Sellin about $50,000 to buy and transform the car.

Sellin said the work was a labor of love but it was also for a goodcause.

The DeLorean, along with Michael J. Fox, Leah Thompson andChristopher Lloyd look-a-likes will be the main attractions at a charityevent on Saturday, which will also feature professional wrestlers TitoSantana and Brutus The Barber Beefcake.

For a small donation, people will have the opportunity to pose with,and inside, the DeLorean.

The money will be given to the Michael J. Fox Foundation forParkinsons Research.

Were truly grateful for the efforts of Team Fox members, like Eric,
who find the most creative ways to raise awareness and funds for
Parkinsons disease research, says Sheila Kelly, Director of Special
Events and Team Fox for the foundation.
David Gard/ NewJersey Local News Service.The dashboard ofthe DeLorean matches the one depicted in "Back to the Future" starringMichael J. Fox.
Sellin, 48, was a well-respected chef and the owner of Mariques on MainStreet in Mendham.

It was there he first met John DeLorean, the cars pioneeringnamesake, who lived his final 24 years in New Jersey. DeLoreans formerstate is now the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.

After the restaurant closed, Sellin, a self-described car nut, wentto work at Long Valley Auto Body in Washington Township.

The DeLorean isnt the first car he restored for fun.

Sellins most popular creation is a replica of the Scooby Doo van,which he drove around the country for the Cancer Society and Make a WishFoundation.

The kids love it, Sellin said.

Sellin said he has owned four or five DeLoreans in his life andalways wanted to replicate what was seen in the movie.

It wasnt complicated so much as time intensive, Sellin said.

The flux capacitor, for example, is just strobe lights inside anelectrical box with a Plexiglas cover but the design wasnt easy.

Making it look just right, took a long time, Sellin said. Makingsure it was the right size and shape.

He would replay the film over and over, downloading pictures andfreezing frames to see exactly how the car looked from every angle inside and out.

Because it is the movies 25th anniversary, Sellin and his DeLoreanhave a lot of requests. He has dates already booked in Pennsylvania,Virginia, North Carolina, New York, Illinois and Kentucky.

I love it, Sellin said. The adults love it, the kids love it.People come up and ask me questions about how I built it. Its so uniqueto see something like this.

Gene Variant Influences Vitamin B6 Metabolism - An international teamof doctors and human geneticists has identified a new genetic riskfactor for Parkinson's disease. The institutions involved in the studywere the Institute of Human Genetics of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen andTechnische Universitt Mnchen, the Neurological Clinic ofLudwig-Maximilians-Universitt Munich (LMU) and the MitochondrialResearch Group of Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
"Ourstudy reveals the interaction of genetic and environmental factors suchas dietary habits in the pathogenesis of Parkinsons disease,"explained Dr. Matthias Elstner of the Neurological Clinic of LMU andHelmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, lead author of the study. In addition, thisgenome-wide expression and association study confirms that vitamin B6status and metabolism significantly influence both disease risk andtherapy response (Annals of Neurology, January, 2010).

Scientistsof the two Munich universities and Helmholtz Zentrum Mncheninvestigated neurons in the brain to determine which genes modify theiractivity in Parkinsons disease. Among other findings, the researchgroup detected increased activity of the pyridoxal kinase gene. In asubsequent international cooperation project, the researchers comparedthis gene in over 1,200 Parkinson patients with the genetic data ofmore than 2,800 healthy test subjects. In doing so, they discovered agene variant which increases the risk for Parkinsons disease and whichmay lead to a modified quantity or activity of the enzyme pyridoxalkinase (PDXK) in the brain. In combination with genetic associationanalysis, the innovative method used here single cell expressionprofiling of dopaminergic neurons opens up new possibilities foranalyzing genetic risk factors.

PDXK converts Vitamin B6 fromfood sources into its physiologically active form, which is theprerequisite for the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine.Parkinsons disease is linked to the accelerated aging and dying off ofneurons that produce dopamine. The decreased synthesis of thisneurotransmitter explains most of the disease symptoms: The gradualprogression of the neurological disease is accompanied by muscle rigorand tremor and a slowing of movement (bradykinesia). Besides theconstraints on daily life caused by these symptoms, the posturalinstability of the body can lead to dangerous falls. Moreover, in thecourse of the disease sensory symptoms like paresthesia, vegetativedisorders (e.g. bladder dysfunction) and depression as well as otherpsychological changes can occur.

"Our study elucidates howgenetic and environmental factors such as dietary habits interact inthe pathogenesis of Parkinsons disease, explained Dr. MatthiasElstner of the Neurological Clinic of LMU and Helmholtz ZentrumMnchen, who is lead author of the study. Dr. Holger Prokisch, head ofthe research team studying mitochondrial diseases at Helmholtz ZentrumMnchen and TU Mnchen, added: Although this variant is responsiblefor only a slight contribution to the overall risk for Parkinsonsdisease, our findings could aid in developing individualized therapies."

The second World Parkinson Conference is coming very soon.

TheWorld Parkinson Congress will be held in the UK in 2010 and peopleassociated with the disease are being given the chance to get involved.

Inits capacity as one of the five leading sponsors of the World ParkinsonCongress, the Parkinson's Disease Society (PDS) is hoping to inspireindividuals to consider issues much more at only the second congress ofits kind.

Held in Glasgow between September 28th and October1st 2010, the latest scientific discoveries, carers' initiatives andmedical practices related to Parkinson's disease will be discussed bythe leading authorities in the industry.

The event is open toanyone touched by Parkinson's, with neurologists, health professionals,scientists, people with Parkinson's and carers expected to gather toshare knowledge and develop partnerships to identify best practice inorder to further the development of a cure for the condition.

Thisweek, the PDS announced that it is looking for people to join TrekNepal, which it has described as one of the charity's "most excitingfundraising events of 2010".

A hormone produced in the stomach may be used to boost resistance toParkinsons disease because of its protecting action on dopamineneurons.

Parkinsons a degenerative disease of the centralnervous system - develops when dopamine cells die, and reducedproduction of dopamine in late-stage Parkinsons can cause difficultyin walking, restricted or delayed movement, lack of appetite anddifficulty eating, freezing or motionlessness, and head and limbtremors. Researchers from Yale School of Medicine found that ghrelin, ahormone produced in the stomach, is protective of dopamine neurons.

Wealso found that, in addition to its influence on appetite, ghrelin isresponsible for direct activation of the brains dopamine cells.Because the hormone originates from the stomach, it is circulatingnormally in the body, so it could easily be used to boost resistance toParkinsons or it could be used to slow the development of thedisease, said Tamas Horvath, chair and professor of comparativemedicine and professor of neurobiology and obstetrics & gynaecologyat Yale School of Medicine.

Horvath - who studied the actionof ghrelin in mice - suggests the results could easily be translated tohumans because the ghrelin system is preserved through various species.Horvath and his colleagues conducted the study in mice that received aghrelin supplement and those that were deficient in the hormone andreceptor. When compared to control mice, those with impaired ghrelinaction in the brain had a greater loss of dopamine.

Horvathand his team will now try to establish ghrelin levels in both healthyindividuals and Parkinsons patients, and determine whether alteredghrelin levels might be biomarkers of disease development andvulnerability.

Ghrelin is associated with the release of growthhormones, appetite, learning and memory, and reward circuitry for thebrain that regulates food cravings. Recent studies show that body massindex, stored fat and diabetes are linked to Parkinsons, and obesityis a risk factor for neurodegeneration in mice.