A trial in Parkinson’s disease patients is now being planned by one of the researchers involved in the study
Neurons derived from human neural stem cells (Photo: SWNS-Cambridge-+44 (0)1179066550)
Scientists have revealed they are a step closer to a treatment for Parkinson’s disease .
A naturally-occurring compound has been found to block the molecular process thought to lie behind the condition and could form the basis of a treatment.
The preliminary findings suggest the compound, called squalamine, also suppresses the toxic products associated with the process, researchers at Cambridge University have found.
Academics stressed further research is needed, and that findings are based on cell cultures developed in the lab and testing in nematode worms.
But the compound has been used in clinical trials for cancer and eye conditions in America, and a trial in Parkinson’s disease patients is now being planned by one of the researchers involved in the study.
The study was led by academics from the Centre for Misfolding Diseases based at Cambridge University and Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health in the United States.
Chemistry Professor Christopher Dobson, of St John’s College at Cambridge University, said: “To our surprise, we found evidence that squalamine not only slows down the formation of the toxins associated with Parkinson’s Disease, but also makes them less toxic altogether.
“If further tests prove to be successful, it is possible that a drug treating at least some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease could be developed from squalamine.”
Co-author Michele Vendruscolo, of Cambridge University, said: “This is an encouraging step forward in our efforts to discover potential drugs against Parkinson’s Disease.”
The findings were published in Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/hope-parkinsons-disease-sufferers-scientists-9634228
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