Dr Emma Lane
Reader in Neuropharmacology
- laneel@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 4989
- Fax:
- +44 (0)29 2087 4149
- Media commentator
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
My lab and our research
My lab focuses on better understanding Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that causes a movement disorder. We have two main focuses. Both existing drugs and new treatments have been shown to cause motor side effects known as dyskinesia. As a pharmacologist I use animal models of Parkinson's to better characterise and understand these treatment-induced side effects so that existing and novel therapies can be optimised.
Building on a passion for listening to, and utilising the patient voice, a new direction for the group in collaboration with Dr Cheney Drew, is the development of the LEARN study team. We are focused on understanding the experience of participants living iwth neurodegenerative diseases who take part in interventional clinical trials. Working with charity and industry partners we are exploreing patient centred design of clinical trials of small molecules for disease modification or symptomatic relief as well as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs, i.e. cell transplantation and gene therapy). This work is feeding into improved trial design platforms and patient communication tools.
I lead BRAIN Involve, a PPI group linked to the Health and Care Research Wales funded BRAIN Unit and also lead the Brain Games public engagement programme, running events across a range of platforms.
Funding bodies which support my work
Relevant websites
- GW4 BIOMED2 DTP
- Brain Repair Group with the School of Biosciences
- NECTAR (Network of European CNS Transplantation and Restoration)
- RareQoL
- STEMnet, STEM ambassador
- Cardiff University Neuroscience News
Biography
I was promoted to Reader in Neuropharmacology in 2020 having been a Senior Lecturer since 2015. I was Director of Postgraduate Research Studies for 5 years, managing all the PhD students in the school, in particular supporting them as they navigated a PhD during the COVID pandemic.
I established my own group in 2009 as a Lecturer in Pharmacology at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. This group has focused on Parkinson's disease and now has a profile of research in both lab and patient-facing activities.
I first came to Wales in 2006 as a PDRA working with Prof Stephen Dunnett (2006-2009) in the Brain Repair Centre, Department of Neuroscience, Cardiff University. Here I continued my work on L-dopa and post-transplantation dyskinesia started in Lund, Sweden, contributing to two successful EU FP7 grant awards.
Following my PhD (2004-2006) I was a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Units of Neuronal Survival and Basal Ganglia Pathophysiology, Lund University, Sweden. I spent 2 years in Sweden with Prof Patrik Brundin and Prof Angela Cenci developing, characterizing and working with a model of post-transplantation dyskinesia.
My PhD was conducted at King's College London, UK (2000-2004). I had a BBSRC CASE award studentship with Prof Peter Jenner and Dr Sharon Cheetham (then Knoll Pharmaceuticals) on the potential of BTS 74398, a monoamine uptake inhibitor, as a possible anti-parkinsonian medication in rodent models of the disease.
My undergraduate degree was a BSc in Pharmacology (1996-2000) achieving a 1st class Honours with industrial placement, University College London, UK. Specialising in neuropharmacology options and spending an industrial year at Knoll Pharmaceuticals working on the pharmacology of the anti-obesity agent sibutramine.
Honours and awards
Grant awards - research
£5 575 | Rivastigmine and quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease dementia, Role:PI Neurodem/NISCHR Research Development Group (2014 – ongoing) |
£12 500 | Optimising cell transplantation - BioE Sartre award, total award £25 000 from March 1st 2014 – ongoing: Role: Co-PI With J. Davies (Swansea University) |
£5 000 | Optimising MEMRI - Seed-corn funding from NMH RI – (2011) Role: Co-I with R. Trueman (BIOSI - PI) and S. Paisey (EMRIC) |
£14 978 | Scanning changes in functional brain activity associated with dyskinesia in parkinsonian rats, Parkinson’s Disease Society Innovations grant. Role: PI (2009-10) |
£41 622 | 1 year Wellcome Trust Value In People Award. 2008-2009 |
£338 975 | REPLACES: Restorative plasticity and corticostriatal excitatory synapses. EU FP7 small and medium collaborative research programme HEALTH 2007-2.2.1-7. Role: Co-I with expertise in L-DOPA induced dyskinesia and behavioural assessments, SB Dunnett PI Cardiff (2008-2012) |
£8 600 | Does the storage of embryonic tissue prior to transplantation affect immune responses to the graft and the development of graft induced dyskinesis Parkinsonfonden (Sweden) – Role: PI (2006-2009) |
£7 400 | Pharmacological investigation into amphetamine induced dyskinesia Parkinsonfonden (Sweden) Role: PI (2005-2007) |
Grant awards - public engagement
£936 | Society for Neuroscience (US) Public engagement grant for the Brain Games, match funded with £1000 by NMHRI - PI |
£2000 | Royal Society Public engagement grant - Co-applicant (with lead Fiona Wyllie, BIOSI) |
Professional memberships
- 2009-current, Society for Neuroscience
- 2008-current, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- 2004-current, NECTAR (Network of European CNS Transplantation and Restoration)
Board member from 2009 - 2010 - President-elect of NECTAR
- 2000-current, British Neuroscience Association
Publications
2022
- Lane, E. L., Isaacs, L. and Mathur, S. 2022. More than a participant in trials of cell and gene therapy: Hearing the voices of people living with neurodegenerative diseases. In: International Review of Neurobiology., Vol. 166. ELSEVIER ACADEMIC PRESS INC, pp. 281-312., (10.1016/bs.irn.2022.09.007)
- Lane, E. L. and Lelos, M. J. 2022. Defining the unknowns for cell therapies in Parkinson's disease. Disease Models and Mechanisms 15(10), article number: dmm049543. (10.1242/dmm.049543)
- Elabi, O. F. et al. 2022. Human embryonic stem cell-derived dopaminergic grafts alleviate L-DOPA induced dyskinesia. Journal of Parkinson's Disease 12(6), pp. 1881-1896. (10.3233/JPD-212920)
- Lane, E. L., Harrison, D. J., Ramos-Varas, E., Hills, R., Turner, S. and Lelos, M. J. 2022. Spontaneous graft-induced dyskinesias are independent of 5-HT neurons and levodopa priming in a model of Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders 37(3), pp. 613-619. (10.1002/mds.28856)
2021
- Elabi, O. F., Davies, J. S. and Lane, E. L. 2021. L-dopa-dependent effects of GLP-1R agonists on the survival of dopaminergic cells transplanted into a rat model of Parkinson disease. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22(22), article number: 12346. (10.3390/ijms222212346)
- Orayj, K., Akbari, A., Lacey, A., Smith, M., Pickrell, O. and Lane, E. L. 2021. Factors affecting the choice of first-line therapy in Parkinson's disease patients in Wales: A population-based study. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal 29(2), pp. 206-212. (10.1016/j.jsps.2021.01.004)
2020
- Precious, S. V. et al. 2020. Dopaminergic progenitors derived from epiblast stem cells function similarly to primary VM-derived progenitors when transplanted into a Parkinson’s disease model. Frontiers in Neuroscience 14, article number: 312. (10.3389/fnins.2020.00312)
2019
- Orayj, K., Lacey, A., Akbari, A., Smith, M., Pickrell, O. and Lane, E. 2019. Association between levodopa and ischemic heart disease. International Journal of Population Data Science 4(3), article number: 11. (10.23889/ijpds.v4i3.1172)
- Orayj, K. and Lane, E. 2019. Patterns and determinants of prescribing for Parkinson's Disease: A systematic literature review. Parkinson's Disease 2019, article number: 9237181. (10.1155/2019/9237181)
- Lane, E. L. 2019. L-DOPA for Parkinson's disease-a bittersweet pill. European Journal of Neuroscience 49(3), pp. 384-398. (10.1111/ejn.14119)
2018
- Elabi, O., Duskova, K., Davies, J. and Lane, E. 2018. The impact of ghrelin on the survival and efficacy of dopaminergic fetal grafts in the 6-OHDA-Lesioned rat. Neuroscience 395, pp. 13-21. (10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.10.045)
2017
- Breger, L. S., Kienle, K., Smith, G. A., Dunnett, S. B. and Lane, E. L. 2017. Influence of chronic L-DOPA treatment on immune response following allogeneic and xenogeneic graft in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 61, pp. 155-164. (10.1016/j.bbi.2016.11.014)
2016
- Rylander Ottosson, D. and Lane, E. L. 2016. Striatal plasticity in L-DOPA- and graft-induced dyskinesia:the common link?. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 10, article number: 16. (10.3389/fncel.2016.00016)
2014
- Lindgren, H. S., Demirbugen, M., Bergqvist, F., Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2014. The effect of additional noradrenergic and serotonergic depletion on a lateralised choice reaction time task in rats with nigral 6-OHDA lesions. Experimental Neurology 253, pp. 52-62. (10.1016/j.expneurol.2013.11.015)
2013
- Murphy, E. M., Lelos, M. J., O'Neill, M. J., Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2013. Long-term restorative effects of bromocriptine on operant responding in the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat. NeuroReport 24(18), pp. 1019-1024. (10.1097/WNR.0000000000000060)
- Lane, E. L., Dunnett, S. B. and Fricker, R. A. 2013. The 12th meeting of the International Society for Neural Transplantation and Restoration. NeuroReport 24(18), pp. 997-999. (10.1097/WNR.0000000000000101)
- Lelos, M. J., Lane, E. and Dunnett, S. B. 2013. What helps can also hinder: A dissociation in the acute effect of levodopa treatment on motor and cognitive functions. Movement Disorders 28(5), pp. 563-564. (10.1002/mds.25294)
- Breger, L. S., Dunnett, S. B. and Lane, E. L. 2013. Comparison of rating scales used to evaluate l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in the 6-OHDA lesioned rat. Neurobiology of Disease 50, pp. 142-150. (10.1016/j.nbd.2012.10.013)
- Klein, A., Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2013. Brain repair in a unilateral rat model of Huntington's Disease: new insights into impairment and restoration of forelimb movement patterns. Cell Transplantation 22(10), pp. 1735-1751. (10.3727/096368912X657918)
2012
- Smith, G. A., Breger, L. S., Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2012. Pharmacological modulation of amphetamine-induced dyskinesia in transplanted hemi-parkinsonian rats. Neuropharmacology 63(5), pp. 818-828. (10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.06.011)
- Smith, G. A., Dunnett, S. B. and Lane, E. L. 2012. Amphetamine-induced rotation in the transplanted hemi-parkinsonian rat - Response to pharmacological modulation. Behavioural Brain Research 232(2), pp. 411-415. (10.1016/j.bbr.2012.04.003)
- Smith, G. A., Heuer, A., Dunnett, S. B. and Lane, E. L. 2012. Unilateral nigrostriatal 6-hydroxydopamine lesions in mice II: Predicting L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. Behavioural Brain Research 226(1), pp. 281-292. (10.1016/j.bbr.2011.09.025)
- Heuer, A., Smith, G. A., Lelos, M. J., Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2012. Unilateral nigrostriatal 6-hydroxydopamine lesions in mice I: Motor impairments identify extent of dopamine depletion at three different lesion sites. Behavioural Brain Research 228(1), pp. 30-43. (10.1016/j.bbr.2011.11.027)
- Smith, G. A. et al. 2012. L-dopa and graft-induced dyskinesia in the 6-OHDA-lesioned mouse [Abstract]. Cell Transplantation 21(4), pp. 792-792.
- Lindgren, H. S. and Lane, E. L. 2012. Rodent models of l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. Neuromethods 61, pp. 337-351. (10.1007/978-1-61779-298-4_18)
2011
- Torres, E. M., Lane, E. L., Heuer, A., Smith, G. A., Murphy, E. M. and Dunnett, S. B. 2011. Increased efficacy of the 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the median forebrain bundle in small rats, by modification of the stereotaxic coordinates. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 200(1), pp. 29-35. (10.1016/j.jneumeth.2011.06.012)
- Lane, E. L., Daly, C. S., Smith, G. A. and Dunnett, S. B. 2011. Context-driven changes in 1-DOPA-induced behaviours in the 6-OHDA lesioned rat. Neurobiology of Disease 42(1), pp. 99-107. (10.1016/j.nbd.2011.01.010)
- Smith, G. A., Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2011. Graft-Induced Dyskinesia in Transplanted Hemiparkinsonian Mice and Rats: A Pharmacological Manipulation [Abstract]. Cell Transplantation 20(4), pp. 585-585.
- Smith, G. A., Breger, L. S., Dunnett, S. B. and Lane, E. L. 2011. Developments in Graft-Induced Dyskinesia [Abstract]. Cell Transplantation 20(4), pp. 584-585.
- Klein, A., Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2011. Skilled Reaching Behavior in a Rat Model of Huntington's Disease and the Effects of Neurorestorative Therapy [Abstract]. Cell Transplantation 20(4), pp. 567-567.
- Kelly, C. et al. 2011. Medical terminations of pregnancy: A viable source of tissue for cell replacement therapy for neurodegenerative disorders. Cell Transplantation 20(4), pp. 503-513. (10.3727/096368910X546580)
- Lane, E. L. 2011. Clinical and Experimental Experiences of Graft-Induced Dyskinesia. In: Brotchie, J., Bezard, E. and Jenner, P. eds. Pathophysiology, pharmacology and biochemistry of dyskinesia. International Review of Neurobiology Vol. 98. Kidlington, Oxford: Academic Press, pp. 173-186., (10.1016/B978-0-12-381328-2.00007-9)
- Johnston, T. H. and Lane, E. L. 2011. Experimental models of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. In: Brotchie, J., Bezard, E. and Jenner, P. eds. Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Biochemistry of Dyskinesia. International Review of Neurobiology Vol. 98. London: Academic Press, pp. 55-93., (10.1016/B978-0-12-381328-2.00003-1)
- Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2011. Preface. In: Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. eds. Animal Models of Movement Disorders., Vol. 1. Neuromethods Vol. 61. New York, NY: Humana Press, pp. vii-viii.
2010
- Lane, E. L. and Smith, G. A. 2010. Understanding graft-induced dyskinesia. Regenerative Medicine 5(5), pp. 787-797. (10.2217/rme.10.42)
- Lane, E. L., Björklund, A., Dunnett, S. B. and Winkler, C. 2010. Neural grafting in Parkinson's disease: unraveling the mechanisms underlying graft-induced dyskinesia. In: Björklund, A. and Cenci, M. A. eds. Recent Advances in Parkinson’s Disease: Translational and Clinical Research. Progress in Brain Research Vol. 184. London: Elsevier, pp. 295-309., (10.1016/S0079-6123(10)84015-4)
- Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2010. Pretreatment with dopamine agonists influences L-dopa mediated rotations without affecting abnormal involuntary movements in the 6-OHDA lesioned rat. Behavioural Brain Research 213(1), pp. 66-72. (10.1016/j.bbr.2010.04.034)
- Lane, E. L., Björklund, A., Dunnett, S. B. and Winkler, C. 2010. Neural grafting in Parkinsons disease unraveling the mechnisams underlying graft-induced dyskinesia. In: Progress in Brain Research., Vol. 184. Elsevier, pp. 295-309., (10.1016/S0079-6123(10)84015-4)
2009
- Lane, E. L., Vercammen, L., Cenci, M. A. and Brundin, P. 2009. Priming for L-DOPA-induced abnormal involuntary movements increases the severity of amphetamine-induced dyskinesia in grafted rats. Experimental Neurology 219(1), pp. 355-358. (10.1016/j.expneurol.2009.04.010)
- Lane, E. L., Brundin, P. and Cenci, M. A. 2009. Amphetamine-induced abnormal movements occur independently of both transplant- and host-derived serotonin innervation following neural grafting in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Neurobiology of Disease 35(1), pp. 42-51. (10.1016/j.nbd.2009.03.014)
- Monville, C., Torres, E. M., Pekarik, V., Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2009. Genetic, temporal and diurnal influences on L-dopa-induced dyskinesia in the 6-OHDA model. Brain Research Bulletin 78(4-5), pp. 248-253. (10.1016/j.brainresbull.2008.11.007)
2008
- Lane, E. L., Soulet, D., Vercammen, L., Cenci, M. A. and Brundin, P. 2008. Neuroinflammation in the generation of post-transplantation dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease. Neurobiology of Disease 32(2), pp. 220-228. (10.1016/j.nbd.2008.06.011)
- Lane, E. L., Handley, O. J., Rosser, A. E. and Dunnett, S. B. 2008. Potential cellular and regenerative approaches for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 4(5), pp. 835-845. (10.2147/NDT.S2013)
- Lane, E. L., Cheetham, S. and Jenner, P. 2008. Striatal output markers do not alter in response to circling behaviour in 6-OHDA lesioned rats produced by acute or chronic administration of the monoamine uptake inhibitor BTS 74 398. Journal of Neural Transmission 115(3), pp. 423-429. (10.1007/s00702-007-0854-x)
- Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2008. Animal models of Parkinson's disease and L-dopa induced dyskinesia: How close are we to the clinic?. Psychopharmacology 199(3), pp. 303-312. (10.1007/s00213-007-0931-8)
- Zietlow, R., Lane, E. L., Dunnett, S. B. and Rosser, A. E. 2008. Human stem cells for CNS repair. Cell and Tissue Research 331(1), pp. 301-322. (10.1007/s00441-007-0488-1)
- Lane, E. L., Carlsson, T., Kirik, D. and Dunnett, S. B. 2008. Animal models of Parkinson's Disease. In: Conn, P. M. ed. 2008 Sourcebook of Models for Biomedical Research. Humana Press, pp. 313-322., (10.1007/978-1-59745-285-4_34)
2007
- Lane, E. L. and Dunnett, S. B. 2007. Long-term pre-administration of dopamine agonists alters L-dopa induced circling behavior in the 6-OHDA lesioned rat [Abstract]. Movement Disorders 22(S16), pp. S246. (10.1002/mds.21535)
2006
- Lane, E. L., Winkler, C., Brundin, P. and Cenci, M. A. 2006. The impact of graft size on the development of dyskinesia following intrastriatal grafting of embryonic dopamine neurons in the rat. Neurobiology of Disease 22(2), pp. 334-345. (10.1016/j.nbd.2005.11.011)
- Lane, E. L., Cheetham, S. C. and Jenner, P. 2006. Does contraversive circling in the 6-OHDA-lesioned rat indicate an ability to induce motor complications as well as therapeutic effects in Parkinson's disease?. Experimental Neurology 197(2), pp. 284-290. (10.1016/j.expneurol.2005.06.006)
- Lane, E. L., Winkler, C., Brundin, P. and Cenci, A. 2006. The importance of graft size in the development of graft-induced dyskinesia [Abstract]. Cell Transplantation 15(6), pp. 556-556.
2005
- Lane, E. L., Winkler, C., Mela, F., Lundblad, M., Brundin, P. and Cenci, M. A. 2005. The importance of graft size in the onset of graft-induced dyskinesia [Abstract]. Experimental Neurology 193(1), pp. 250-251. (10.1016/j.expneurol.2005.02.005)
- Lane, E. L., Cheetham, S. and Jenner, P. 2005. Dopamine uptake inhibitor-induced rotation in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats involves both D-1 and D-2 receptors but is modulated through 5-hydroxytryptamine and noradrenaline receptors. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 312(3), pp. 1124-1131. (10.1124/jpet.104.076554)
- Lane, E. L., Cheetham, S. C. and Jenner, P. 2005. Repeated administration of the monoamine reuptake inhibitor BTS 74398 induces ipsilateral circling in the 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rat without sensitizing motor behaviours. European Journal of Neuroscience 21(1), pp. 179-186. (10.1111/j.1460-9568.2004.03834.x)
2003
- Lane, E. L., Rose, S., Cheetham, S. and Jenner, P. 2003. Chronic administration of bts 74 398 does not induce abnormal movements in 6-OHDA lesioned rats [Abstract]. British Journal of Pharmacology 138, pp. U100.
2000
- Lane, E. L., Prow, M. R., Aspley, S., Kilpatrick, I. C. and Heal, D. J. 2000. d-fenfluramine releases 5-HT from whole blood of rats as measured by in vitro microdialysis [Abstract]. British Journal of Pharmacology 129, pp. U85.
- Lane, E. L., Prow, M. R., Butler, S. A., Aspley, S., Kilpatrick, I. C. and Heal, D. J. 2000. A simplified method for the measurement of endogenous 5-HT in rat whole blood using in vitro microdialysis [Abstract]. British Journal of Pharmacology 129, pp. U84.
Teaching
Undergraduate
I contribute substantially to teaching activities across the school with a particular focus on neurology and neuropharmacology. This is a major component of the third year of the MPharm programme, linking to second year and final year materials. I also deliver both ethics and research-related teaching across both the MPharm and other undergraduate and post-graduate courses.
Postgraduate taught
I also deliver on several MSc programmes, teaching in neuropharmacology and neuroscience around neurodegenrative disease and delivery of advanced therapeutics such as cell transplantation and gene therapy.
Postgraduate research
- Having been Director of Postgraduate Research Studies for 5 years I am very experienced in the support, recruitment and management of PhD students. I am the lead for Wellbeing and Research Culture in the GW4 MRC BIOMED2 Doctoral Training Programme, leading on EDI and recruitment.
- I deliver lectures on the Research Students' Skills Development Programme: on ethics and being an ethical scientist, and In Vivo Methods: An Introduction.
- PhD student supervision
I am an external examiner for undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes in pharmacy, pharmacology and neuroscience as well as an experienced postgraduate research viva examiner.
Research interests
Member of the School's Medicines Optimisation and Health Outcomes and Experimental therapeutics and Pharmaceutical Sciences research disciplines.
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a largely sporadic disorder which affects around 120 000 people in the UK. It is most commonly described as a motor disorder, with the cardinal features of resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability. The main pathology is the loss of the melanised dopaminergic neurons of the nigrostriatal pathway and the development of protein accumulations immunopositive for the protein a-synuclein.
I have two main research interests, straddling the clinical and pre clinical research areas. I am interested in Parkinson’s patient outcomes and how clinical interventions can influence those outcomes. I work closely with clinical colleagues that run the Parkinson’s service in Cardiff and Vale and Abertawe Bro Morgannog University Health Boards. We have instituted a new electronic health record and research is focusing on how these clinical support tools are facilitating patient care and linking different data sets through the SAIL database. Importantly we are working to collate the experiences of participants in clinical trials of advanced therapy medicinal products to explore how these trials can be made more patient centred. We are co-creating outputs with the participants to support different stakeholders involved in clinical trials, from CI's, ethics committees and of course future participants and their support networks. Our current funding from the Michal J Fox Foundation is supporting our work with RareQol to increase the understanding of barriers and facilitators in under-represented groups to partake in clinical trials.
Current therapeutic approaches to the treatment of Parkinson’s disease cause side effects. Many of the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease can be well controlled in the early stages with dopaminergic drugs therapies, however as the disease develop, the main treatment for Parkinson's disease, L-dopa, causes the development of abnormal involuntary movements. These can be severely debilitating and there are currently few pharmaceutical interventions to prevent or ameliorate them. Understanding the features that predispose for the development of L-dopa induced dyskinesia may increase our ability to identify patients at greater risk and avoid or minimise them with careful management of medication. Furthermore, the effects of L-dopa may go beyond motor activation and I am interested in the possible effects of long-term L-dopa administration on motor learning and habit formation using in vivo models of PD and dyskinesia.
Not only do dyskinesia develop, but medication become less effective at treating the motor symptoms of PD as the disease progresses. Transplantation of foetal tissue into the striatum can replace the lost dopaminergic innervation and can produce remarkable improvements in motor function. However, clinical trials have identified issues that need to be carefully considered before further clinical trial of embryonic tissue or cells from alternative sources (ie stem cells) can be attempted, including reliability and reproducibility of positive results, access to sources of embryonic tissue and alternative cell types and most notably the issue of transplantation-induced side effects. Three clinical trials of transplantation with embryonic tissue have now reported the development of dyskinesia in transplanted patients unrelated to their medication, to the extent that several have required further surgical interventions to ameliorate their symptoms. The main focus of my research over the last few years has been in determining mechanisms and contributing risk factors for the development of post-transplantation dyskinesia in order that transplantation can proceed unhindered into the next phase of clinical trials. Supporting research informed clinical delivery of care following ATMP administration is vital to support the participants now and patients of the future.
