ISU researchers make progress in cure for Parkinson's disease

October 07, 2016

AMES, Iowa (KCCI) -- Researchers at Iowa State University have found a protein in the brain that could lead to a cure for Parkinson's Disease

Victoria Miller has been living with the disease for 15 years.

“It affects me by rigidity, my muscles get really stiff, especially my left side is bad, and tremor,” Miller said.

She has had to trade old pastimes like gardening for things to keep her physically active, like boxing, which helps the disease.

“You can sit and wait for the disease to take over or you can be optimistic,” said Miller, who’s optimistic that one day, there will be a cure.

And now researchers at ISU are one step closer.

“It’s a long way away, but I think it’s a good strategy,” said Anumantha Kanthasamy, one of the researchers who may have found a protein, Prokineticin-2, which may protect brain cells. “This protein is released during stress, then it helps the cells to make more mitochondria to help with the stress. Then you can see it helps with the survival of the cells.”

This discovery gives scientists a new target to look at when it comes to fighting Parkinson's disease.

“What we call susceptible targets, we can double up on some drugs or other strategies to increase the protein levels in Parkinson’s patients,” Kanthasamy said.

“That makes me feel elated,” Miller said. “How can we not be thrilled over something like that?”

Kanthasamy said the science is complex, so it’s hard to estimate a timeline.

“I would think in five to 10 years, we should be able to make good progress,” Kanthasamy said. “At least see where the target is, if we can make that work.”

“I think that a cure is at our fingertips,” Miller said.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is also raising money to find a cure for Parkinson's disease.

The nonprofit is selling tickets to win a pair of limited edition Nike Mag shoes, similar to the shoes Fox wore in the popular movie, “Back to the Future.”

Video Link: http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/ISU-researchers-make-progress-in-cure-for-Parkinsons-disease-396279881.html

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