Mark S. LeDoux, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Neurology Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Director
Dystonia and Huntington Disease Clinics
Director
Movement Disorders Research Laboratories
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
855 Monroe Avenue
Suite 415 Link Building
Memphis, TN 38163
Phone: (901) 448-1662
Fax: (901) 448-7440
Email: Mark S. LeDoux
Grants Quick Links
Education
- M.D. Institution: Louisiana State University School of Medicine
- Ph.D. Institution: University of Alabama, Birmingham, Department of Neuroscience
- Residency Training: University of Alabama at Birmingham; University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Links
- Neurology - Mark S. LeDoux
- UT Medical Group - Mark S. LeDoux
- To support our research efforts in the fight against dystonia, give an online gift.
Research Interests
- Genetics and pathobiology of primary dystonia
- Using vertebrate and invertebrate models, human lymphoblastoid cell lines and stable transfected cell lines, we study the cellular and systems biology of dystonia-associated proteins (torsinA, THAP1, caytaxin, carbonic anhydrase 8 and epsilon-sarcoglycan).
- Genetic contributions to late-onset primary dystonia are being examined with candidate gene, genome-wide and gene expression studies.
- Mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson disease: several members of the tetrahydroisoquinoline (TIQ) family of monoamine alkaloids can be formed from dopamine or its oxidized metabolites and may be involved in the pathogenesis of monoaminergic cell death in Parkinson disease. To examine the potential role of TIQs in monoaminergic cell death, we have used enantiomeric-selective high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectroscopy, cell culture studies of neurotoxicity and assays of mitochondrial membrane potential.
- Clinical trials of therapeutic interventions for movement disorders (dystonia, Huntington disease, Parkinson disease, restless legs syndrome)
- Anatomy and computational organization of motor systems
- The neural networks mediating suprasegmental control of the blink reflex and spontaneous blinking remain poorly understood. Viral transneuronal tracing is being used to define the integrated premotor cortical and subcortical control of levator palpebrae and orbicularis oculi motoneuron activity.
- In isolation or via interactions with striatal-thalamo-cortical pathways, olivocerebellar structures play a critical role in disorders of motor control such as ataxia and dystonia. Using neurophysiological and molecular tools, we are dissecting the relative roles of individual network elements in the positive and negative signs characteristic of individual movement disorders.
Clinical Subspecialty Expertise
Adult and Pediatric Movement Disorders, Botulinum Toxin for Dystonia and Spasticity
Representative Publications
- Hedera P, Davis TL, Phibbs FT, Charles PD, Ledoux MS. FUS in familial essential tremor - The search for common causes is still on. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2013 May 6. doi:pii: S1353-8020(13)00154-5. 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2013.04.009. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 23660545.
- Ledoux MS. Non-Parkinson movement disorders: Five new things. Neurol Clin Pract. 2013 Feb;3(1):22-29. PubMed PMID: 23634381; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3613216.
- Vemula SR, Puschmann A, Xiao J, Zhao Y, Rudzinska M, Frei KP, Truong DD, Wszolek ZK, Ledoux MS. Role of Gα(olf) in familial and sporadic adult-onset primary dystonia. Hum Mol Genet. 2013 Jun 15;22(12):2510-9. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddt102. Epub 2013 Feb 27. PubMed PMID: 23449625; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3658169.
- Qiao S, Kim SH, Heck D, Goldowitz D, LeDoux MS, Homayouni R. Dab2IP GTPase activating protein regulates dendrite development and synapse number in cerebellum. PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e53635. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053635. Epub 2013 Jan 9. PubMed PMID: 23326475; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3541190.
- Zhao Y, Xiao J, Gong S, Clara JA, Ledoux MS. Neural expression of the transcription factor THAP1 during development in rat. Neuroscience. 2013 Feb 12;231:282-95. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.11.049. Epub 2012 Dec 5. PubMed PMID: 23219941; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3558550.
- Prudente CN, Pardo CA, Xiao J, Hanfelt J, Hess EJ, Ledoux MS, Jinnah HA. Neuropathology of cervical dystonia. Exp Neurol. 2013 Mar;241:95-104. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2012.11.019. Epub 2012 Nov 27. PubMed PMID: 23195594; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3570661.
