Burton L. Scott, MD, PhD

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Services

• Neurological Disorders

Department / Division:
Medicine / Neurology

Address:
DUMC 3333
Durham, NC 27710

Appointment Telephone:
(919) 668-7600

Office Telephone:
(919) 668-2493

Fax Telephone:
(919) 681-4935

• M.D., University of Miami, Florida, 1990

• Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina, 1991-1994

• Movement Disorders, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, 1994-1995

• Ph.D., Duke University, North Carolina, 1984

Clinical Interests:
Movement disorders, Parkinson's disease, chorea, dystonia, tics, Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, tremors, tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's disease, myoclonus, botulinum toxin injections, restless legs syndrome, Wilson's disease

Research Interests:

My research interests focus on protein-protein interactions in neurodegenerative disorders, primarily Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, in collaboration with Professor Warren Strittmatter of the Division of Neurology at Duke.  I am also examining the possible role of environmental toxins in Parkinson's disease and have developed a questionnaire concerning toxin exposures for distribution to patients of the Duke Movement Disorders Clinic and their families.

In the area of Parkinson's disease, I am investigating protein-protein interactions involving a-synuclein, a 140-amino acid protein localized to presynaptic terminals in human brain and recently associated with familial forms of Parkinson's disease.  Wild type and mutant a-synuclein fusion proteins have been cloned in our laboratory and are incubated with human brain homogenates (specimens obtained from the Bryan Brain Bank at Duke University).  Samples are probed for specific protein-protein interactions using sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), silver staining, and Western blotting using monoclonal antibodies.  In the area of Alzheimer's disease, a major dementing illness for which apolipoprotein E is a known risk factor, our studies have demonstrated that apolipoprotein E alters in vitro assembly of microtubules, which are intracellular structures required for normal functioning of neurons and other cells.  For the apolipoprotein E studies, purified, depolymerized microtubule proteins are incubated in the presence of different isoforms of apolipoprotein E, and the rate and extent of microtubule assembly are assayed using spectrophotometric turbidimetry.  Other techniques used in these studies include negative-stain electron microscopy to visualize microtubules, bacterial expression of cloned proteins, cell fractionation and ultracentrifugation for isolation of porcine brain tubulin (the protein which forms microtubules in cells), and affinity column chromatography.  

Concerning clinical investigations, I am Principal Investigator (P.I.) for the clinical study (Duke IRB #1626-94-12R6): "Compassionate Use of Tetrabenazine in Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders", in which tetrabenazine, a dopamine-depleting agent, is used to treat a variety of hyperkinetic movement disorders including tardive dyskinesia.  I am a sub-investigator in a study sponsored by Novaris Pharmaceuticals entitled:  "Quality of Life in Patients Treated with COMT Inhibitors for Parkinson's Disease:  The Derivation of Health Utilities" and a study sponsored by Roberts Laboratories entitled:  "A Randomized, Double-Blind, Multi-Center Study to Define the Clinical Benefits of Midodrine HCl in Patients with Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension" (Duke IRB #20,762-401).  I was co-P.I. with Dr. John Gorecki of the Duke Neurosurgery Division in a study sponsored by Medtronics, Inc. (Duke IRB #642-96-5):  "Clinical Investigation of Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment of Tremor Using the Medtronic Model 3382 DBS -TM  Lead and Itrel II System" in which patients with refractory essential (familial) tremor or Parkinsonian tremor were treated by chronic electrical stimulation to the thalamus in the brain.  I was also a subinvestigator in the drug study "Compassionate Use of Cabergoline in Patients with Parkinson's Disease" with Principal Investigator Dr. Jacob I. Sage at UMDNJ.   Cabergoline is a long-acting dopamine2 receptor agonist which is effective for treatment of some Parkinson's disease symptoms.

My fellowship training was in Movement Disorders with Dr. Joseph Jankovic at the Baylor Movement Disorders Center in Houston.   My area of clinical focus is movement disorders, including Parkinson's disease, tremors, tics, chorea, dystonia, Huntington's disease, and Wilson's disease.  I use botulinum toxin injections to treat selected patients afflicted with dystonia, tremors, and tics.

Key words: movement disorders, Parkinson's disease, tremors, tics, chorea, dystonia, dementia, microtubules, tau, a-synuclein, botulinum toxin injections.

Representative Publications:
Scott BL, Welch K, deSerrano V, Moss NC, Roses AD, Strittmatter WJ (1998). Human apolipoprotein E accelerates microtubule polymerization in vitro. Neurosci Lett 245:105-108. (1998)

Scott BL, Bazan NG (1989). Membrane docosahexaenoate is supplied to the developing brain and retina by the liver. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86:2903-2907. (1989)

Scott BL, Evans RW, Jankovic J (1996). Treatment of palatal myoclonus with sumatriptan. Mov Disord 11:748-752. (1996)

Scott BL, Jankovic J (1996). Delayed-onset progressive movement disorders after static brain lesions. Neurology 46:68-74. (1996)

Corless JM, McCaslin DR, Scott BL (1982). Two-dimensional rhodopsin crystals from disk membranes of frog retinal rod outer segments. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 79:1116-1120. (1982)