County experts lead Parkinsons study
HEALTH: A team of scientists from a Yorkshire university will lead new £1.2m research into a drug to help people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Scientists at the University of Sheffield will develop a drug to protect dopamine-producing brain cells, with the aim to slow down the progression of the disease.
A TEAM of scientists from a Yorkshire university will lead new £1.2m research into a drug to help people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Scientists at the University of Sheffield will develop a drug to protect dopamine-producing brain cells, with the aim to slow down the progression of the disease.
The team led by Dr Heather Mortiboys, from the South Yorkshire university, has been working with experts from Parkinson’s UK to develop molecules that can boost the function of the brain’s energy-producing mitochondria to halt the degenerative disease – something no treatment can currently do.
“We’re delighted to continue our work with Parkinson’s UK to refine these promising molecules to develop a treatment that could stop Parkinson’s in its tracks,” said Dr Mortiboys, from the University of Sheffield’s Institute of Translational Neuroscience (SITraN).
She added: “The team has identified not only molecules which can restore mitochondrial function in dopaminergic neurons from people with Parkinson’s, but also a novel mechanism by which they do this.”
Dopamine is a chemical which allows messages to be sent to the parts of the brain that help to coordinate movement.
To do this effectively, the dopamine-producing brain cells need to be constantly active and they rely on mitochondria to function properly.
Any disruption could lead to dysfunction and degeneration of the brain cells and eventual cell death. Parkinson’s is what happens when those cells die.
Currently there is no cure for Parkinson’s which causes a loss of physical movement and uncontrollable tremors.
There are around 145,000 people in Britain with the disease and the rate of diagnosis stands at two an hour.
Scientists have so far been unable to pinpoint why people develop the condition which occurs due to a loss of nerve cells in the brain.
These cells produce the chemical dopamine, which is vital in allowing messages to be sent to the part of the brain responsible for co-ordinating movement.
The problem is that by the time the first signs of Parkinson’s disease are presented, around 70 per cent of these cells have already been lost.
Current thinking suggests that people develop the condition due to a combination of genes and environmental factors.
Earlier work from Dr Mortiboys, and the team of biology and chemistry experts, had identified two molecules with excellent mitochondrial restoration properties.
Modifications to these molecules, saw the improvement to boost the mitochondria without causing side effects.
In a ground-breaking approach to drug discovery, the team have been using cells from people with
Parkinson’s and will continue to test molecules in these cells throughout and into the next phase of the project with the aim to move into clinical trials in people with the disease.
The new funding from Parkinson’s UK comes via the charity’s virtual biotech initiative, which is plugging the funding gap in drug development and fast-tracking the development of new treatments for people with Parkinson’s.
Dr Arthur Roach, director of Research at Parkinson’s UK, said: “There is a desperate need for new and better treatments and we hope this project will one day deliver a life-changing drug for people living with the condition.”
We hope this project will one day deliver a lifechanging drug. Dr Arthur Roach, Parkinson’s UK.