New Target Found for Parkinson's Disease Therapies

Filed in archive Drugs, Vaccines and Therapeutics on August 24, 2005

Parkinson's disease (PD) belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which are the result of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. According to the National Institutes of Health, At least 500,000 people are believed to suffer from PD in the United States, and about 50,000 new cases are reported annually. Since the average onset is about at 60, the older the population gets (which is the trend in most developed countries), the more people are expected to manifest the disease.

In a recent publication, neuroscientists from the University at Buffalo, have been able to identify a novel target for PD therapies: the microtubules that transport the neurotransmitter dopamine to the brain area that controls body movement. The showed in cultures of rat neurons, how substances that mimic rotenone, an environmental toxin linked to PD, does damage to the microtubules, and how the drug Taxol (Brystol-Myers Squibb, generic name: Paclitaxel) stabilizes and protect the microtubules from such damage.

Jian Feng, Ph.D., of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and senior author on the study, says:

"Based on these findings, we have identified several ways to stabilize microtubules against the onslaught of rotenone. These results ultimately may lead to novel therapies for Parkinson's disease."