The Michael J Fox Foundation awards $107,000 grant to new Parkinson’s study

The Michael J Fox Foundation has awarded a grant of US $107,000 to fund research into a newly discovered gene linked to Parkinson’s.

The study – carried out by researchers from the University of Bordeaux, France and Purdue University, US – will investigate whether gene NFE2L1 can reduce nerve cell death in those living with the condition.

Jean-Christophe Rochet, professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Purdue University, said: “We recently found that a minor allele [part of a gene] of NFE2L1 can lower Parkinson’s risk.

“These observations imply that neuron death in Parkinson’s disease may result in part from a loss of the neuroprotective action of NFE2L1.”