LA JOLLA: The La Jolla-based Burnham Institute for Medical Research will announce today that it has received $8 million in federal money to study whether toxins in the environment cause Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder marked by severe trembling and stiffness.

The five-year grant will allow the Burnham Institute to run its Center for Neurodegeneration Science. Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California San Diego are expected to collaborate with those from Burnham in the new venture.

Environmental toxins may alter protein functions that affect an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. “Our goal is to screen chemical libraries to find compounds that prevent” this damage from occurring, said Dr. Stuart Lipton, director of the new center.

There is no cure for Parkinson's disease, and therapies that provide temporary relief of symptoms can have side effects that some patients find intolerable. –C.C.