New treatment targeting versatile protein may protect brain cells in Parkinson's disease

Madhuri Raman
May 17, 2014

No author given
Published: May 16, 2014
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140516092046.htm 


Summary: 
Researchers from Lund University have recently discovered a possible solution to the extreme decrease in dopamine in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter produced in specific neurons and helps control the body's movement. In PD, these cells are unable to produce dopamine, leading to a patient acquiring some type of movement disorder. The researchers have decided to approach this issue by looking at a protein in the brain called Sigma-1, "that improves the brain's capacity to cope with a host of harmful processes." By activating this protein in mice, they found that inflammation decreased, dopamine levels increased, and a noticeable improvement of motor symptoms was shown in mice with a Parkinson-like condition. Although this method has never been tested on humans with PD, it has, however, worked successfully on mice and humans suffering from motor neuron disease or stroke. Professor Cenci Nilsson said, "...The Sigma-1 receptor is widely expressed in many cell types, [so] the treatment could intervene in many of these damaging processes ." Scientists believe that this treatment will become a potential therapy for Parkinson's Disease in the future

Connection:
This article directly relates to our classes studies of the Nervous System. Parkinson's Disease, itself, is involved with the nonproduction of dopamine. Since dopamine is a key neurotransmitter in synapses, a loss of it causes signals to not be sent to other neurons in the brain. In class, we learned about the structure of a neuron and the important role of neurotransmitters to send message to and from neurons. We also discussed the term "homeostatic imbalance." In PD, the body is faced with a homeostatic imbalance when it cannot produce a sufficient amount of dopamine. However, with the discovery of the new protein, Sigma-1, a body suffering from PD will be able to overcome this homeostatic imbalance by producing more dopamine. Furthermore, we learned about the different types of neurons in the body; mainly sensory and motor neurons. In PD, motor neurons play a major role because they are the neurons carrying signals to the brain regarding movement. With more dopamine available, patients' motor symptoms will also increasingly improve.