Emory School of Medicine teams with deCODE Genetics to study link between genes a...( s including discovery of the STRK1 gen...)

s, including discovery of the STRK1 gene, the first gene implicated in the common form of stroke, and a gene linked to schizophrenia. In a study funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Emory neurologists will soon begin the first study in the U.S. addressing the STRK1 gene. The research team will examine several hundred Emory stroke patients and characterize them for stroke risk factors, stroke subtype, and STRK1 gene characteristics. DeCODE will conduct the genetic analysis of the Emory patient population and compare these findings to the Icelandic population to determine the role the STRK1 gene plays in populations outside Iceland.

Emory neurologist Allan Levey, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Emory Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, has been collaborating with deCODE scientists for several years in studies involving the genetics of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, and Dr. Rye has joint studies with deCODE on narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome.

"Many neurological diseases result from a complex mixture of environmental and genetic causes," Dr. Levey explains, "and although we have learned about genes that are responsible for a small percentage of cases of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, we know there are many more genes involved. These genes have proven very difficult to sort out in our heterogeneous U.S. population. Working with deCODE, we can use the genetic clues from the relatively homogeneous Icelandic population to determine whether implicated genes confer disease risk in more complex populations. With more than 30,000 patient visits to our neurology clinics each year, Emory has a large, diverse, and well-characterized group of neurology patients, many of whom already have participated in research studies. "

"Our alliance with deCODE presents a tremendous opportunity for Emory scientists to participate in and contribute to some of the most advanced genetic research in the world," said Thomas J. Lawley, M.
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Contact: Holly Korschun
hkorsch@emory.edu
404-727-3990
Emory University Health Sciences Center
13-Aug-2002

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