New model paves way for drugs to fight Parkinson's disease

Washington, Feb 2 (ANI): New drugs to combat Parkinson's disease (PD) may soon be available, for researchers have developed a new mammalian model for studying a specific gene mutation commonly found in PD sufferers.

"This is a great step forward toward a more comprehensive understanding of how the disease works, and how it can be diagnosed and treated," said lead author Patrick Aebischer, of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.

Until now, researchers have encountered difficulty in reproducing PD pathology in animals because of an incomplete understanding of the disease.

Recently, a mutation of the gene coding for LRRK2, a large enzyme in the brain, has emerged as the most prevalent genetic cause of PD (genetics are implicated in about 10 percent of all PD cases). When the enzyme is mutated, it becomes hyperactive, causing the death of vulnerable neurons and leading to a reduction in levels of the brain neurotransmistter dopamine.

This decrease in dopamine eventually triggers the symptoms characteristic of Parkinson's, such as tremors, instability, impaired movement, and later stage dementia.

Now, Aebischer and his team have successfully introduced mutant LRRK2 enzyme into one hemisphere of a rat brain, resulting in the same PD manifestations that occur in humans in one side of the rodent's body.

To do this, the researchers spent two years producing and optimizing a viral vector to deliver mutated, LRRK2 coding DNA into the rat brain. LRRK2 is a large and complicated enzyme and designing a vector capable of transporting its extremely long genetic code was no small feat.

The new animal model developed by EPFL is sure to benefit future Parkinson's research. The fact that LRRK2 is an enzyme-a catalyzing protein involved in chemical reactions-makes it drug accessible and therefore of specific interest to researchers looking for neuroprotective strategies, or pharmaceutical treatments that halt or slow disease progression by protecting vulnerable neurons.

Armed with the LRRK2 model, new pharmaceuticals that inhibit the hyper-activity of the enzyme could one day prevent the destructive chain of events that leads to neurodegeneration and devastation in many with PD.

The study has been published in the Journal of Neuroscience. (ANI)