Research comms 2: Exploiting our understanding of selective vulnerability of dopamine axonal subpopulations to identify α2δ as a promising target for Parkinson’s by Katherine Brimblecombe

1.10pm – 1.35pm BST, 23 April 2026 ‐ 25 mins

Afternoon Session

I will be talking about how we built on anecdotal reports from people with Parkinson’s, that gabapentinoids improved some of their symptoms, to raise the question: Can gabapentinoids be repurposed for the treatment of Parkinson’s?

We found that gabapentinoids corrected multiple phenotypes in a mouse model of Parkinson’s and gained mechanistic insights into how gabapentinoids affect dopamine release from both sexes of wild-type mice.

Speakers

Katherine Brimblecombe

Find out more

×

Katherine Brimblecombe

I am a senior post-doc in Prof. Stephanie Cragg’s lab at the University of Oxford, where I enjoy working collaboratively within Oxford Parkinson’s disease centre.  My work focuses on the mechanisms regulating dopamine transmission between striatal territories, with the aim of understanding why some populations of dopamine neurons are especially vulnerable in Parkinson’s.