PROJECT: JTC2008: PARKCDNF

Parkinson?s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder of unknown cause resulting in 12-20 new cases per 100.000 people per year in European countries. In the past years several genes have been identified that are implicated in rare familial forms of PD. However, the etiology of more than 95% of PD patients is still unknown. The central symptoms of PD are the consequence of degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Promoting survival and antagonizing cell death are therefore the only real targets for the development of a therapeutic concept to cope with idiopathic PD.