Researchers Identify New Drugs to Treat Parkinson's Disease

A team of scientists have identified new drugs that stop faulty brain cells dying and slow the progression of Parkinson's disease.

In a ground breaking research, experts from Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience have identified new drugs that slow the growth of Parkinson's disease.

Dr Oliver Bandmann, Reader in Neurology at SITraN ,said in a press statement, "...The best treatments currently available only improve some of the symptoms, rather than tackle the reason why Parkinson's develops in the first place, so there is a desperate need for new drug treatments which could actually slow down the disease progression. We are hopeful that this group of drugs can one day make a real difference to the lives of people with Parkinson's."

Parkinson's disease is the 14^th leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2010 there was a 4.6 percent hike in the number of deaths due to Parkinson's disease. This is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by the loss of muscle control, which causes trembling of the limbs, head as well as impaired balance. Throughout the world 5 million people are affected with this disease and 1 million suffer from the disorder in the U.S.

In this drug trial researchers used skin cells collected from people with progressive neurological condition.  They tested more than 2,000 compounds to see which compounds helped correct the faulty mitochondria, the power house of the cells of our body. One of the major reasons for the brain cells to die in Parkinson's is the malfunctioning of the mitochondria.

During the research they identified a synthetic drug called 'ursodeoxycholic acid' (UDCA). For several years now, this licensed drug has been used to treat  liver disease. This further supports the study as researchers can immediately initiate clinical trials to verify the safety as well as the tolerability for Parkinson's.

Through this they will identity the optimum dosage to make sure the drug reaches the target brain part where the disease builds.

Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research and Innovation at Parkinson's, UK, said, "This is a really exciting time for Parkinson's research. For the first time, we are starting to identify drugs that will treat the Parkinson's - possibly slow down or halt its progression - rather than just the symptoms..."

The results are published in the journal BRAIN.