June 24, 2011 Contact: John Ascenzi, Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, 267-426-6055 or firstname.lastname@example.org The
Center for Applied Genomics at CHOP contributed important
scientific analysis to a recent international study of the rare
brain disease progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), published on
June 19 in the journal Nature Genetics. In this article,
genetics researchers reported that a genome-wide association
study discovered new gene mutations that raise the risk of PSP
and provides clues for potential treatment strategies for the
currently untreatable disease. The multicenter effort was the
largest genetics study of this devastating neurodegenerative
brain disorder, which causes abnormal movements similar to those
seen in Parkinson’s disease. PSP is a form of frontotemporal
dementia caused by an abnormal buildup of tau protein, which
also plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease. CHOP’s Center for
Applied Genomics, directed by Hakon Hakonarson, MD, PhD,
received a $580,000 grant from the CurePSP