Study May Lead to New Treatment for Parkinson’s

[TECH NEWS]

For decades, patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have had the same experience. Their hands start to shake uncontrollably, their limbs become rigid and they lose their balance. Years before those movement problems set in, many begin struggling with fainting, incontinence, sexual dysfunction, anxiety and depression. Most patients are still treated with a 42-year-old drug called L-DOPA, which temporarily staves off symptoms but can itself cause heart arrhythmias, stomach bleeding and hallucinations. In this light, it’s best to tread carefully when talking about early study results that promise something better. That said, a team of researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has identified a set of experimental drugs called LRRK2 inhibitors that may go beyond symptom relief to directly counter the inflammation and nerve cell death at the root of Parkinson’s. Andrew West, PhD, presented findings of the group at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans.

October 15, 2012, University of Alabama at Birmingham