Marco Prado | |
---|---|
Spouse(s) | Vania Prado, DDS, PhD |
Academic background | |
Education | B Pharm, Fluminense Federal University MSc, PhD, Biochemistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Western Ontario Federal University of Minas Gerais |
Marco Antonio Maximo Prado is a Brazilian/Canadian neuroscientist. He is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Neurochemistry of Dementia and Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Neurochemistry .
Prado was born and raised in Brazil. He earned his Bachelor of Pharmacy from the Fluminense Federal University and his Master of Science and PhD in biochemistry from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. While conducting his doctorate degree,Prado spent three years at McGill University in Montreal,Quebec. [1]
Following his PhD,Prado and his wife Vania returned to the Federal University of Minas Gerais where they ran separate molecular research laboratories. [1] Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Western Ontario (UWO),Prado focused his research on studying proteins as they relate to prion diseases. He used mouse models to understand how abnormal protein behaviours play roles in neurodegenerative diseases. [2] In 2004,Prado accepted a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Neuroscience. [3] Upon accepting a faculty appointment at UWO as a tenured full professor,Prado established a laboratory to focus on two projects. His first project aimed at studying molecular mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease while his second project focused on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. [1] In 2011,Prado and his wife were part of a team of researchers who demonstrated that investigated the role of cholinergic neurons in the striatum,a brain region affected in Parkinson's disease." [4] As a result of his research,Prado was named a UWO Faculty Scholar in 2013. [5]
In 2019,Prado was named a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Neurochemistry of Dementia [6] and Editor-in-Chief for Reviews for Journal of Neurochemistry . [7]
Lewy body dementias are two similar and common subtypes of dementia:Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking,movement,behavior,and mood. The two conditions have similar features and may have similar causes,and are believed to belong on a spectrum of Lewy body disease that includes Parkinson's disease. As of 2014,they were more often misdiagnosed than any other common dementia.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to neuroscience:
Lewy bodies are the inclusion bodies –abnormal aggregations of protein –that develop inside nerve cells affected by Parkinson's disease (PD),the Lewy body dementias,and some other disorders. They are also seen in cases of multiple system atrophy,particularly the parkinsonian variant (MSA-P).
Paul Greengard was an American neuroscientist best known for his work on the molecular and cellular function of neurons. In 2000,Greengard,Arvid Carlsson and Eric Kandel were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning signal transduction in the nervous system. He was Vincent Astor Professor at Rockefeller University,and served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cure Alzheimer's Fund,as well as the Scientific Council of the Brain &Behavior Research Foundation. He was married to artist Ursula von Rydingsvard.
A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons,in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,multiple sclerosis,Parkinson's disease,Alzheimer's disease,Huntington's disease,multiple system atrophy,and prion diseases. Neurodegeneration can be found in the brain at many different levels of neuronal circuitry,ranging from molecular to systemic. Because there is no known way to reverse the progressive degeneration of neurons,these diseases are considered to be incurable;however research has shown that the two major contributing factors to neurodegeneration are oxidative stress and inflammation. Biomedical research has revealed many similarities between these diseases at the subcellular level,including atypical protein assemblies and induced cell death. These similarities suggest that therapeutic advances against one neurodegenerative disease might ameliorate other diseases as well.
John Quinn Trojanowski was an American academic research neuroscientist specializing in neurodegeneration. He and his partner,Virginia Man-Yee Lee,MBA,Ph.D.,are noted for identifying the roles of three proteins in neurodegenerative diseases:tau in Alzheimer's disease,alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease,and TDP-43 in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal degeneration.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances,symptoms can include problems with language,disorientation,mood swings,loss of motivation,self-neglect,and behavioral issues. As a person's condition declines,they often withdraw from family and society. Gradually,bodily functions are lost,ultimately leading to death. Although the speed of progression can vary,the typical life expectancy following diagnosis is three to nine years.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease,is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most common form of the motor neuron diseases. Early symptoms of ALS include stiff muscles,muscle twitches,and gradual increasing weakness and muscle wasting. Limb-onset ALS begins with weakness in the arms or legs,while bulbar-onset ALS begins with difficulty speaking or swallowing. Around half of people with ALS develop at least mild difficulties with thinking and behavior,and about 15% develop frontotemporal dementia. Motor neuron loss continues until the ability to eat,speak,move,and finally the ability to breathe is lost with the cause of early death usually being respiratory failure.
Gladstone Institutes is an independent,non-profit biomedical research organization whose focus is to better understand,prevent,treat and cure cardiovascular,viral and neurological conditions such as heart failure,HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer's disease. Its researchers study these diseases using techniques of basic and translational science. Another focus at Gladstone is building on the development of induced pluripotent stem cell technology by one of its investigators,2012 Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka,to improve drug discovery,personalized medicine and tissue regeneration.
Moussa B. H. Youdim is an internationallly reknowwn Israeli neuroscientist specializing in neurochemistry and neuropharmacology. He is the discoverer of both monoamine oxidase (MAO) B inhibitors l-deprenyl (Selegiline) and rasagiline (Azilect) as anti-Parkinson drugs which possess neuroprotective activities. He is currently Professor Emeritus at Technion - Faculty of Medicine and President of Youdim Pharmaceuticals.
Neurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous group of complex disorders linked by the degeneration of neurons in either the peripheral nervous system or the central nervous system. Their underlying causes are extremely variable and complicated by various genetic and/or environmental factors. These diseases cause progressive deterioration of the neuron resulting in decreased signal transduction and in some cases even neuronal death. Peripheral nervous system diseases may be further categorized by the type of nerve cell affected by the disorder. Effective treatment of these diseases is often prevented by lack of understanding of the underlying molecular and genetic pathology. Epigenetic therapy is being investigated as a method of correcting the expression levels of misregulated genes in neurodegenerative diseases.
The Krembil Research Institute,formerly known as the Toronto Western Research Institute,is an academic medical research institute in Toronto. It is one of the largest research institutes in Canada focusing on human neurological disease.
Virginia Man-Yee Lee is a Chinese-born American biochemist and neuroscientist who specializes in the research of Alzheimer's disease. She is the current John H. Ware 3rd Endowed Professor in Alzheimer's Research at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,and the director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and co-director of the Marian S. Ware Alzheimer Drug Discovery Program at the Perelman School of Medicine,University of Pennsylvania. She received the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.
The neuroscience of aging is the study of the changes in the nervous system that occur with ageing. Aging is associated with many changes in the central nervous system,such as mild atrophy of the cortex that is considered non-pathological. Aging is also associated with many neurological and neurodegenerative disease such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,dementia,mild cognitive impairment,Parkinson's disease,and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease.
Carl Wayne Cotman is an American neuroscientist. He is a professor of neurology at the University of California,Irvine School of Medicine,where he is also the founding director of the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia and the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders. He is known for researching the neurochemistry of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. His research has shown,for example,that physical exercise increases production of brain-derived neurotropic factor,which protects neurons from aging-related damage and promotes the growth of new ones.
Melanie Crombie Williams Campbell is a professor of physics at the University of Waterloo. Cross-appointed with the School of Optometry and Vision Science,she is known for the development of light activated treatments for eye disease and non-invasive imaging techniques for the detection of Alzheimer's disease through the identification of retinal amyloids.
Elizabeth Mary Claire Fisher is a British geneticist and Professor at University College London. Her research investigates the degeneration of motor neurons during amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease triggered by Down syndrome.
Lary Walker is an American neuroscientist and researcher at Emory University in Atlanta,Georgia. He is Associate Director of the Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Emory,and he is known for his research on the role of abnormal proteins in the causation of Alzheimer’s disease.
Rebecca Jane Rylett is a Canadian molecular neurobiologist. As of 2019,she is the Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Aging. As a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Western Ontario,Rylett also served as an Associate Dean in the Schulich School of Medicine &Dentistry and chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.
Isabelle Aubert is a Canadian neuroscientist with expertise in developing regenerative therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. She is a senior scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute,and is a professor in laboratory medicine and pathobiology at the University of Toronto. In 2019,Aubert was appointed as a Canada Research Chair in Brain Repair and Regeneration.
Marco Prado publications indexed by Google Scholar