Transplant drug offers new hope to sufferers of Parkinson's

Published on Sunday 16 August 2009 19:54

A DRUG given to transplant patients can protect brain cells from rogue genes that cause Parkinson's disease, say scientists.

Rapamycin is an immune suppresser used to prevent transplant organs being rejected by the body's defence system.

Scientists found that it blocks the damaging effects of two of the mutant genes known to cause inherited forms of Parkinson's.

Because it weakens the immune system, the drug is unlikely to be used to treat patients directly. But investigating how rapamycin prevents the cell death associated with Parkinson's could lead to new treatments.

The disease occurs when nerve cells that produce the chemical messenger dopamine die off. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that ensures the right signals are sent to control movement. When there is too little of it, patients suffer Parkinson's symptoms of muscle rigidity, shaking, and loss of balance.

Dr Alex Whitworth, who led the research team from the University of Sheffield, said: "Although rapamycin is not a 'wonder drug' for treating Parkinson's, our study does show that the animal and human models that we used may be a valuable tool in the discovery of new drugs for directly treating the condition.

"Another exciting outcome of our study is that the positive effects were seen in both flies and human cells. This shows that human cells grown in the lab may be a good method of screening for new anti-Parkinson's drugs in the future."

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research and development at the Parkinson's Disease Society which funded the work, said: "This is an exciting new development in the search for new and better treatments for Parkinson's.

" The research is published online today in the journal Nature Neuroscience.