Sara af Bjerkén

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

Research qualifications: Docent

Contact

sara.af.bjerken@umu.se

Works as

Assistant professor, consultant (attending) physician at Department of Medical and Translational Biology Section: Group Sara af Bjerkén, Teachers A-wing, Teachers D1-wing

hus H, Johan Bures väg 12, Biologihuset Umeå universitet, 901 87 Umeå

Research fellow at Department of Clinical Sciences Section: Neurosciences

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

Published: 22 Sep, 2021

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.