House Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #2605 Eco-Genetics of Parkinson's Disease
Requester:	Juan Sanchez-Ramos, PhD, MD		Organization:		University of South Florida
Project Title:	Eco-Genetics of Parkinson's Disease		Date Submitted:		01/31/2000 11:07:07 AM
District Member:	Gus Bilirakis		Service Area:		County
Counties Affected:	Hillsborough
Recipient:	Parkinson's Disease Research - U.S.F. Foundation		Contact:		Marcia McCall
	12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, MDC 55		Contact Phone:		(813) 974-6022
	Tampa 33612
Project Description:
The goal of this project is to understand how exposure to organochlorine pesticide chemicals results in Parkinson's Disease (PD) in some individuals but not in others. Florida is an agricultural state in which pesticides and herbicides are used year round. We assume that individuals who have lived most of their lives in rural regions in Florida have a greater likelihood of exposure to these chemicals than the general population of the United States. We plan to determine the occupational and environmental risk factors of PD based on questionnaires administered to 200 PD patients and age-matched controls and then to determine objective and quantitative measures of exposure through serum levels of a panel of organochlorine pesticide residues. Next we will determine the genotypic pattern in the PD cases and the controls using state-of-the-art microchip technology. We then expect to establish a link between levels of exposure to organichlorines and a genetically determined capacity to metabolize xenobiotics. This information will be used to estimate the risk of PD.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
Results from this study will A) lead to new pharmacological interventions or therapeutic strategies to decrease body burden of pesticides; B) an improved policy regarding use of pesticides and herbicides; and C) a reational approach for preventing PD in future generations. Alternatively, the results of this study may demonstrate that serum levels of pesticides have no influence on the risk of PD, but specific genetic profiles increase the risk of the disease. This result might lead to therapeutic intervention for those vulnerable individuals.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Upon completion of this study, we will have specific information about the relationship between exposure to environmental chemicals and genetic risk factors for the development of Parkinson's Disease. In particular, we will have measured levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in 400 subjects, 200 of which suffer from PD. In addition, genetic profiles of each subject's capacity to metabolize xenobioitcs and pesticides will have been measured. Genetic profiling, together with the pesticide data, will permit calculation of risk estimates for PD.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$225,182
Total cost of the project:		$225,182

Request has been made to fund:	Operations
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?		No
Was this project previously funded by the State?		No
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?		Unknown
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?		No
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?		No
Is there a documented need for this project?		No
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?		No