Friday, 28th September – h 2:00 p.m.
Seminars Room, NICO
Jenny Sassone
Vita-Salute University and San Raffaele Scientific Institute
Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, Division of Neuroscience
Synapse transmission as potential target in Juvenile Parkinsonism
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorders after Alzheimer disease. Most PD cases are sporadic and of unknown etiology, but PD can also be caused by genetic mutations. One of the most invalidating PD form is the juvenile parkinsonism characterized by onset before 40 years of age.
The greatest unmet therapeutic need for idiopathic and genetic PD patients is disease-modifying treatment that reduces the rate of dopaminergic neuron loss. The discovery of such pharmacological therapy for prevention and treatment relies on the identification of early pathological events in reliable preclinical model organisms which, when targeted, may provide neuroprotection. Kainate Receptors (KARs) are ionotropic glutamate receptors located at both pre- and postsynaptic membranes in the central nervous system where they contribute to excitatory synaptic transmission regulating post-synaptic currents, neurotransmitter release and neuronal excitability.
This lecture will review the main PD features, the biology of dopaminergic neurons, the characteristics of mouse models that mimic juvenile parkinsonism and will present unpublished preliminary data about the potential role of KAR in neuroprotective therapy of juvenile parkinsonism.
Ospite: Annalisa Buffo
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