Parkinson's: New molecule can stop neural damage
02 October, 2018
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by symptoms such as tremor, impaired balance, and slowness of movement. New research from Spain, however, may have found a way of stopping and even reversing the neural degeneration specific to this condition.
Data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicate that approximately 50,000 people receive a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease each year in the United States.
In terms of its worldwide prevalence, studies have shown that Parkinson's disease affects one percent of the population aged 60 and over, and it is the second most widely diagnosed neurodegenerative condition.
Though the causes of this condition remain unclear, its development is associated with certain toxic mechanisms that become established in the brain. One of the main mechanisms is the formation of aggregates known as "Lewy bodies," which disrupt the normal activity of nerve cells.
These aggregates are made out of a protein called "alpha-synuclein." Although researchers know that alpha-synuclein plays an important role in Parkinson's, as well as in different forms of dementia, it remains unclear how it is produced in the body and what role it plays in the healthy brain.
What we do understand, however, is that acting on alpha-synuclein could put a stop to the deterioration of motor function that takes place in Parkinson's.
Recently, a team of researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain has identified a special molecule that not only blocks neurodegeneration, but can also reverse it.
The study paper, which appears in PNAS, outlines the methods that the researchers used in order to find this molecule — named SynuClean-D — and begin testing it for effectiveness and safety.