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Aging & Neuroepidemiology Group

Etiology of Parkinson's Disease

Honglei Chen, M.D., Ph.D.
Honglei Chen, M.D., Ph.D.
Tenure-Track Investigator



Tel (919) 541-3782
Fax (919) 541-2511
chenh2@niehs.nih.gov

Curriculum Vitae (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/atniehs/labs/epi/aging/chen-cv.pdf)  Download Adobe Reader P.O. Box 12233
Mail Drop A3-05
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
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Research Summary

The Aging & Neuroepidemiology Group studies the environmental and genetic factors that may influence the risks of neurodegenerative diseases. More specifically, the research has been focused on the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). Honglei Chen, M.D., Ph.D., is the head of the Aging & Neuroepidemiology Group.

Chen's research interest is the epidemiology of neurological diseases and aging. He has examined associations between dietary and lifestyle factors and PD risk with data from three large prospective cohorts in collaboration with Alberto Ascherio, M.D., Dr. P.H., at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Chen’s major findings include:

  • higher consumption of dairy products was associated with a greater risk of PD in men
  • the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) might lower the risk of PD
  • maintaining higher levels of physical activity may lower the risk of PD
  • PD risk was not affected by intakes of dietary fats or folate and probably not by the intakes of dietary antioxidants

Currently, he is collecting data for another large epidemiological study on PD: The Parkinson’s Gene and Environment (PAGE) Study. The PAGE study is expected to be one of the largest and most comprehensive epidemiological investigations on PD etiology. In addition to PD, Chen is also interested in examining the etiologies of aging-related conditions and other neurodegenerative conditions such as cognitive decline. He will develop projects in these areas with collaborators from NIEHS, Harvard and other institutions.

Chen received his M.D. from TianJin Medical University in TianJin, China, and his Masters degree from the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine in BeiJing, China. In 2001, he received his Ph.D. in Nutritional Epidemiology from Tufts University in Boston and stayed in Boston to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health. He joined the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch as a Tenure-Track Investigator in 2005.

Studies

  • PAGE Study (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/atniehs/labs/epi/studies/parkinsons/index.cfm)
    The Parkinson’s, Genes and Environment (PAGE) study is designed to investigate the roles of diet, lifestyle, environmental factors and genes in Parkinson’s disease and their potential interactions in causing the illness.

Selected Publications

  1. Chen H, Zhang SM, Hernán MA, Willett WC, Ascherio A. Diet and Parkinson's disease: a potential role of dairy products in men. Ann Neurol. 52: 793-801, 2002. [Abstract](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12447934) Exit NIEHS [Full Text] (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/99519626/HTMLSTART)Exit NIEHS [download the PDF] (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/99519626/PDFSTART)Exit NIEHS
  2. Chen H, Zhang SM, Hernán MA, Willett WC, Ascherio A. Weight loss in Parkinson’s disease. Ann Neurol. 53(5): 676-9, 2003. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12731005)Exit NIEHS [Full Text] (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/104528501/HTMLSTART)Exit NIEHS [download the PDF] (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/104528501/PDFSTART)Exit NIEHS
  3. Chen H, Zhang SM, Hernán MA, Schwarzschild MA, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Speizer FE, Ascherio A. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Arch Neurol. 60: 1059-64, 2003. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=12925360&dopt=Abstract)Exit NIEHS [Full Text] (http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/60/8/1059)Exit NIEHS [download the PDF] (http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/60/8/1059)Exit NIEHS
  4. Chen H, Zhang SM, Hernan MA, Willett WC, Ascherio A. Dietary intakes of fat and risk of Parkinson's disease. Am J Epidemiol. Jun 1; 157(11): 1007-14, 2003. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12777364&query_hl=39&itool=pubmed_docsum)Exit NIEHS
  5. Chen H, Zhang SM, Schwarzschild MA, Hernan MA, Logroscino G, Willett WC, Ascherio A.  Folate intake and risk of Parkinson's disease. Am J Epidemiol. Aug 15; 160(4): 368-75, 2004.  [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15286022&query_hl=41&itool=pubmed_docsum)Exit NIEHS
  6. Chen H, Zhang SM, Schwarzschild MA, Hernan MA, Ascherio A. Physical activity and the risk of Parkinson's disease. Neurology. Feb 22; 64(4): 664-9, 2005. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15728289&query_hl=43&itool=pubmed_docsum)Exit NIEHS
  7. Chen H, Jacobs E, Schwarzschild MA, McCullough ML, Calle EE, Thun MJ, Ascherio A. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug use and the risk for Parkinson's disease. Ann Neurol. Dec; 58(6): 963-7, 2005. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16240369&query_hl=45&itool=pubmed_docsum)Exit NIEHS
  8. Chen H, Zhang SM, Schwarzschild MA, Hernan MA, Ascherio A. Survival of Parkinson's disease patients in a large prospective cohort of male health professionals. Mov Disord. Jul; 21(7): 1002-7, 2006. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16602107&query_hl=49&itool=pubmed_docsum)Exit NIEHS
  9. Huang X, Chen H, Miller WC, Mailman RB, Woodard JL, Chen PC, Xiang D, Murrow RW, Wang YZ, Poole C. Lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are associated with Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord. Feb; 22(3): 377-81, 2007. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17177184&query_hl=52&itool=pubmed_docsum)Exit NIEHS
  10. Ascherio A, Chen H, Weisskopf MG, O'Reilly E, McCullough ML, Calle EE, Schwarzschild MA, Thun MJ. Pesticide exposure and risk for Parkinson's disease. Ann Neurol. Aug; 60(2): 197-203, 2006. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16802290&query_hl=54&itool=pubmed_docsum) Exit NIEHS
  11. Weisskopf MG, O'Reilly E, Chen C, Schwarzschild MA, Ascherio A. Plasma uric acid and risk of Parkinson's disease. American Journal of Epidemiology. 5: 561-567, 2007. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17584757) Exit NIEHS
  12. Simon KC, Chen H, Schwarzschild M, Ascherio A. Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and risk of Parkinson's disease. Neurology. 17: 1688-1695, 2007. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17761552) Exit NIEHS
  13. Chen H , Richards M , Sandler DP , Umbach DM , Kamel F. Head injury and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. American Journal of Epidemiology. 7: 810-816, 2007. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17641152) Exit NIEHS
  14. Gao X, Chen H, Fung TT, Logroscino G, Hu FB, Ascherio A. Prospective study of dietary pattern and risk of Parkinson's disease. The American journal of clinical nutrition 2007 5: 1486-1494. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17991663) Exit NIEHS
  15. Gao X , Chen H , Schwarzschild MA, Glasser DB, Logroscino G, Rimm EB, Ascherio A. Erectile function and risk of Parkinson's disease. American journal of epidemiology 2007 166(12):1446-1450. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17875583) Exit NIEHS
  16. Zhou T, Chou J, Zhou Y, Simpson DA , Cao F, Bushel PR, Paules RS, Kaufmann WK. Ataxia telangiectasia-muted-dependent DNA damage checkpoint functions regulate gene expression in human fibroblasts. Molecular cancer research : MCR 2007 5(8):813-822. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17699107) Exit NIEHS
  17. Thacker EL, Chen H , Patel AV , McCullough ML , Calle EE , Thun MJ , Schwarzschild MA , Ascherio A . Recreational physical activity and risk of Parkinson's disease. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society 2008 23(1):69-74. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17960818) Exit NIEHS
  18. Wang H, Chen H, Gao X, McGrath M, Deer D, De Vivo I, Schwarzschild MA, Ascherio A. Telomere length and risk of Parkinson's disease. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society 2008 23(2):302-305. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=18044760) Exit NIEHS
  19. Gao X, Chen H, Choi HK, Curhan G, Schwarzschild MA, Ascherio A. Diet, urate and Parkinson's disease risk in men. American Journal of Epidemiology 2008 167(7):831-838. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=18326873) Exit NIEHS
  20. Gao X, Chen H, Schwarzschild MA, Logroscino G, Ascherio A. Perceived imbalance and risk of Parkinson's disease. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society 2008 23(4):613-616. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=18181208) Exit NIEHS
  21. Chen H, Guo X. Obesity and functional disability among elder Americans. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2008 56(4):689-694. [Abstract] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=18266843) Exit NIEHS

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Last Reviewed: December 19, 2008