"False"
Umeå University
printicon
Main menu hidden.
Staff photo Sara af Bjerkén

Sara af Bjerkén

My research is focused on neurodegenerative processes and non-motor symptomatology in Parkinson's disease.

Research qualifications: Docent

Contact

E-mail
sara.af.bjerken@umu.se
Phone
+46 90 786 51 16

Works at

Affiliation
Assistant professor, consultant (attending) physician at Department of Medical and Translational Biology Section: Group Sara af Bjerkén, Teachers A-wing, Teachers D1-wing
Location
hus H, Johan Bures väg 12, Biologihuset Umeå universitet, 901 87 Umeå
Affiliation
Affiliated as research fellow at Department of Clinical Sciences Section: Neurosciences
Location
Norrlands universitetssjukhus, Umeå universitet, Klinisk vetenskap Umeå universitet, Klinisk vetenskap, 901 85 Umeå

Sara af Bjerkén is a neurologist and Associate Professor in Histology and Cell Biology. af Bjerkén's research is focused on neurodegenerative processes and non-motor symptomatology in Parkinson's disease.

N-acetylcysteine increases dopamine release and prevents the deleterious effects of 6-OHDA on the expression of VMAT2, α-synuclein, and tyrosine hydroxylase
Neurological Research, Taylor & Francis Group 2024, Vol. 46, (5) : 406-415
El-Habta, Roine; af Bjerkén, Sara; Virel, Ana
Amphetamine-induced dopamine release in rat: Whole-brain spatiotemporal analysis with [11C]raclopride and positron emission tomography
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, Sage Publications 2024, Vol. 44, (3) : 434-445
Johansson, Jarkko; Ericsson, Madelene; Axelsson, Jan; et al.
Reliability and validity of visual analysis of [18F]FE-PE2I PET/CT in early Parkinsonian disease
Nuclear medicine communications, Wolters Kluwer 2023, Vol. 44, (5) : 397-406
af Bjerkén, Sara; Axelsson, Jan; Larsson, Anne; et al.
VNTR polymorphism in the SLC6A3 gene does not influence dopamine transporter availability measured by [18F]FE-PE2I PET or [123I]FP-Cit SPECT
Nuclear medicine communications, Wolters Kluwer 2022, Vol. 43, (3) : 247-255
Jakobson Mo, Susanna; Axelsson, Jan; J. Stiernman, Lars; et al.
N-acetylcysteine decreases dopamine transporter availability in the non-lesioned striatum of the 6-OHDA hemiparkinsonian rat
Neuroscience Letters, Elsevier 2022, Vol. 770
Virel, Ana; Johansson, Jarkko; Axelsson, Jan; et al.
Noradrenaline is crucial for the substantia nigra dopaminergic cell maintenance
Neurochemistry International, Elsevier 2019, Vol. 131
af Bjerkén, Sara; Stenmark Persson, Rasmus; Barkander, Anna; et al.
H-1 NMR profiling of the 6-OHDA parkinsonian rat brain reveals metabolic alterations and signs of recovery after N-acetylcysteine treatment
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Vol. 98 : 131-139
Virel, Ana; Dudka, Ilona; Laterveer, Rutger; et al.
Dopamine transporter imaging with [18F]FE-PE2I PET and [123I]FP-CIT SPECT – a clinical comparison
EJNMMI Research, Springer 2018, Vol. 8
Jakobson Mo, Susanna; Axelsson, Jan; Jonasson, Lars; et al.
Dampened Amphetamine-Stimulated Behavior and Altered Dopamine Transporter Function in the Absence of Brain GDNF
Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 37, (6) : 1581-1590
Kopra, Jaakko J.; Panhelainen, Anne; af Bjerken, Sara; et al.
An altered blood–brain barrier contributes to brain iron accumulation and neuroinflammation in the 6-OHDA rat model of Parkinson's disease
Neuroscience, Elsevier 2017, Vol. 362 : 141-151
Olmedo-Díaz, Sonia; Estévez-Silva, Héctor; Orädd, Greger; et al.
Embryonic and mature astrocytes exert different effects on neuronal growth in rat ventral mesencephalic slice cultures
SpringerPlus, Vol. 4
Hashemian, Sanaz; O'Rourke, Caitriona; Phillips, James B.; et al.
Degradation of proteoglycans affects astrocytes and neurite formation in organotypic tissue cultures
Brain Research, Elsevier 2014, Vol. 1564 : 22-32
Hashemian, Sanaz; Marschinke, Franziska; af Bjerkén, Sara; et al.
Serotonergic nerve fibers in l-DOPA-derived dopamine release and dyskinesia
Neuroscience, Elsevier 2014, Vol. 260 : 73-86
Nevalainen, Nina; Af Bjerkén, Sara; Gerhardt, G A; et al.
Dopamine release from serotonergic nerve fibers is reduced in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia
Journal of Neurochemistry, Vol. 118, (1) : 12-23
Nevalainen, Nina; Af Bjerkén, Sara; Lundblad, Martin; et al.
Histological studies of the effects of chronic implantation of ceramic-based microelectrode arrays and microdialysis probes in rat prefrontal cortex.
Brain Research, Vol. 1291 : 12-20
Hascup, Erin R; af Bjerkén, Sara; Hascup, Kevin N; et al.
Chronic intermittent L-DOPA treatment induces changes in dopamine release
Journal of Neurochemistry, Vol. 108, (4) : 998-1008
Lundblad, Martin; af Bjerkén, Sara; Cenci, Angela M.; et al.
Inhibition of astrocytes promotes long-distance growing nerve fibers in ventral mesencephalic cultures
International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, Vol. 26, (7) : 683-691
af Bjerkén, Sara; Marschinke, Franziska; Strömberg, Ingrid
Effects of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor deletion on ventral mesencephalic organotypic tissue cultures.
Brain Research, Vol. 1133, (1) : 10-9
af Bjerkén, Sara; Boger, Heather A; Nelson, Matthew; et al.
Glial influence on nerve fiber formation from rat ventral mesencephalic organotypic tissue cultures.
Journal of Comparative Neurology, Vol. 501, (3) : 431-42
Berglöf, Elisabet; Af Bjerkén, Sara; Strömberg, Ingrid
L-DOPA conversion to dopamine in the rat dopamine-depleted striatum
af Bjerkén, Sara; Nevalainen, Nina; Lundblad, Martin; et al.
The age of the astrocytes affects neuronal growth
Hashemian, Sanaz; Phillips, James B; af Bjerkén, Sara; et al.
View publications in DiVA

Research groups

Head of research
Laboratory of Neurodegeneration and Repair

Research projects

17 January 2022
DopaminTransporter-PET in Atypical parkinsonian syndromes and Lewybody Dementia – DaTAtiLDe
1 November 2015 until 1 June 2020
PEARL-PD
Wants to get closer to a solution to Parkinson’s disease

Sara af Bjerkén is determined to figure out what role noradrenaline has in this context.