Then, what about a disease modifying therapy? Anything that slows, halts or reverses the disease process would surely beat Sinemet. So companies should shoot for those therapies, right? For one, there may be more on the horizon here than most folks think…at least I think it’s pretty good news that many pharmaceutical companies are working on LRRK2-based therapies (with the underlying assumption that such therapies would benefit all PD patients, not just those with a LRRK2 mutation). We are actively working to fund some of these start-up efforts within companies (and notably, if the work looks promising you are really starting an idea well along the alphabet—ie, things can happen much faster if the work is already in industry hands. We are also funding some academic work to better understand the basic biology around LRRK2 since it’s a relatively new finding. Importantly, we are aggressively working on research tools for LRRK2 specifically (supporting patient cohorts and developing animal models) and on tools that can benefit all sponsors of disease modifying therapies—like biomarkers.

Thank you just seeing it. This is new to me and the best part of your post from where I'm sitting. It reinforces what genetic testing is capable of and it promises a tangible treatment. I know that you are constantly striving for a strategy that produces. I do understand the magnitude of it, but only from what i read until now. We get suspicious and paranoid, would much rather communicate.

thank you ,
paula