GGC students team up to fight
Parkinson’s disease Parkinson’s disease causes debilitating symptoms for millions of people The Challenge
In Parkinson’s and related disorders,
Like many neurological conditions,
these neurons can malfunction and die
because it is challenging to understand.
speech difficulties and other symptoms.
the brain called the substantia nigra. This
The Research
name given because this area is very
students have researched Parkinson’s
nerve cells, or neurons. Melanin is a pig-
Haining, assistant professor of chemistry,
In neurons, it is called neuromelanin.
professor of biology.
melanin due to their production and use
abnormal neuromelanin contributes
communication between neurons.
development of Parkinson’s, while Achat-
Parkinson’s disease is difficult to treat
Parkinson’s involves a small area of
term translates to “black substance,” a
– leading to tremors, mobility problems,
For several years, about 30 GGC
dark due to the presence of melanin in its
disease under the guidance of Dr. Robert
ment also involved in skin and hair color.
and Dr. Cindy Achat-Mendes, assistant
These neurons accumulate neuro-
Haining has long suspected that
of dopamine, a chemical that allows
to faulty dopamine function in the
Mendes studies how nicotine appears to protect against Parkinson’s.
“Understanding the interaction
of these three substances may shed light on the
biochemistry of the disease, which
may in turn lead
to treatment,” said Haining.
This area is largely unexplored despite
the fact that Parkinson’s is directly related to the death of neuromelanin-containing
neurons. Haining and Achat-Mendes dis-
cussed this in their article, “Neuromelanin, one of the most overlooked molecules in modern medicine, is not a spectator,” in
the March 2017 peer-reviewed scientific journal Neuro Regeneration Research. To study these interactions, the stu-
dent/faculty team tackles the challenge from different angles.
Because it is so dark, neuromelanin
absorbs almost all visible and ultraviolet (UV) light. To study its biochemical
processes, the team uses an instrument called a spectrometer that is equipped
with fluorescent light. This strategy en-
ables them to study the largely unknown
properties of neuromelanin, shedding light on Parkinson’s and similar conditions.
To evaluate nicotine’s neuroprotective
effects, students study movement in a
worm species in which Parkinson’s can be modeled.
Another exciting approach involves
studying lab-grown neurons to examine
how nicotine affects the nervous system’s immune response.
Dr. Cindy Achat-Mendes, assistant professor of biology, and Fergie Giron,’19, biology, calculate the density of dopamine-producing neurons that will be grown in the lab for use in their research.
4
I
Ge orgia Gwinne t t C ollege
