Parkinsons Breakthough Could Slow Disease Progression
Date: 29.10.2012
In an early-stage breakthrough, a team of Northwestern University scientists has developed a new family of compounds that could slow the progression of Parkinson's disease.
The new compounds were developed by Richard B. Silverman, the John Evans Professor of Chemistry at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and inventor of the molecule that became the well-known drug Lyrica, and D. James Surmeier, chair of physiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Their research was published Oct. 23 inthe journal Nature Communications.
The compounds work by slamming the door on an unwelcome and destructive guest -- calcium. The compounds target and shut a relatively rare membrane protein that allows calcium to flood into dopamine neurons. Surmeier's previously published research showed that calcium entry through this protein stresses dopamine neurons, potentially leading to premature aging and death. He also identified the precise protein involved -- the Cav1.3 channel.
