Some potential good news about Parkinsons
Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 6:21 pm
Saint Louis University Scientists Identify Chemical that Triggers Parkinson’s Disease
Blog Name: Net News Publisher
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered the key brain chemical that causes Parkinson’s disease - a breakthrough finding that could pave the way for new, far more effective therapies to treat one of the most common and debilitating neurological disorders.
Currently, the main approach for treating Parkinson’s disease, which afflicts more than 1.5 million Americans, is to replace dopamine that’s lost when the cells that produce it die off and cause the disorder. With this new research, however, scientists can better work toward ‘neuroprotective’ therapies - those that actually block dopamine cells from dying off in the first place.
“We believe this work represents a very significant breakthrough in understanding the complicated chemical process that results in Parkinson’s disease,” said William J. Burke, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and the study’s lead author.
“For the first time, we’ve identified the chemical that triggers the events in the brain that cause this disorder,” Burke added. “We believe these findings can be used to develop therapies that can actually stop or slow this process.”
“This is very exciting,” Burke said. “This is the first time that anyone has ever established that it is a naturally occurring byproduct of dopamine that causes alpha-synuclein to aggregate, or clump together. It’s actually DOPAL that kicks this whole process off and results in Parkinson’s disease.”
Blog Name: Net News Publisher
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered the key brain chemical that causes Parkinson’s disease - a breakthrough finding that could pave the way for new, far more effective therapies to treat one of the most common and debilitating neurological disorders.
Currently, the main approach for treating Parkinson’s disease, which afflicts more than 1.5 million Americans, is to replace dopamine that’s lost when the cells that produce it die off and cause the disorder. With this new research, however, scientists can better work toward ‘neuroprotective’ therapies - those that actually block dopamine cells from dying off in the first place.
“We believe this work represents a very significant breakthrough in understanding the complicated chemical process that results in Parkinson’s disease,” said William J. Burke, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and the study’s lead author.
“For the first time, we’ve identified the chemical that triggers the events in the brain that cause this disorder,” Burke added. “We believe these findings can be used to develop therapies that can actually stop or slow this process.”
“This is very exciting,” Burke said. “This is the first time that anyone has ever established that it is a naturally occurring byproduct of dopamine that causes alpha-synuclein to aggregate, or clump together. It’s actually DOPAL that kicks this whole process off and results in Parkinson’s disease.”