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Funding News - Sleep Disturbances in Parkinson’s Disease and Parkinson-like Conditions

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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) encourage grant applications for research on sleep disturbances in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Parkinson-like conditions.*

Sleep disturbances affect the overwhelming majority of PD patients during the course of their illness, and have significant adverse effects upon quality of life and, in some cases, safety on the road and in the workplace. Medications prescribed for PD may also affect sleep and wakefulness. These problems also extend into the larger population of patients with neurodegenerative disorders that have parkinsonian features, collectively referred to as Parkinson's related neurological conditions (PRNC).

Areas of potential research include studies to: examine the natural history of sleep and wakefulness symptoms in PD and PRNC; elucidate mechanisms by which these conditions affect sleep and wakefulness; examine the interrelationship between disturbed sleep and impaired wakefulness; elucidate abnormalities in the neurobiology of hypocretin and leptin associated with PD or PRNC and leading to altered chemosensitivity or increased upper airway resistance during sleep; elucidate mechanisms by which pharmacotherapies for these conditions affect sleep and wakefulness; identify promising interventions to improve the sleep and wakefulness of PD and PRNC patients; optimize the intervention strategy; assess the appropriate delivery system or parameter settings of an electronic device or surgical technique; assess the safety and tolerability at various doses or concentrations of a specific intervention; and explore pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Merrill M. Mitler, Program Director, Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2116, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-9964; fax: 301-402-2060; e-mail: mm777k@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-03-131.html.

This content has been adapted from the original NINDS Notes publication. For the most up-to-date funding information, please visit the Funding Opportunities section of the NINDS web site.  For the most recent information on NINDS studies, please visit the NINDS Patient Recruitment web site.