New Peptide Therapy Stops Parkinson’s in Mice

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on May 3, 2012

Parkinsons disease is an insidious disorder affecting movement and cognition for over one million Americans. New research has identified a method that stops and even prevents the progression of Parkinsons in mice and holds out hope for a preventative therapy.

Parkinsons is defined by a gradual loss of nerve cells of neurons that produce a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is essential for normal function of muscles and other body organs.

Researchers have learned that changes in a gene known as DJ-1 also leads to an accelerated loss of dopaminergic neurons and results in the onset of Parkinsons symptoms at a young age.

Although people naturally lose dopamine-producing neurons as part of the aging process, Parkinsons patients experience a rapid loss of these neurons from the onset of the disease, leading to much more drastic deficiencies in dopamine than the average person.

The ability to modify the activity of DJ-1 could change the progress of the disease, said Dr. Nirit Lev, a researcher at Tel Aviv University. Working in collaboration with Profs. Dani Offen and Eldad Melamed, she has now developed a peptide which mimics DJ-1s normal function, thereby protecting dopamine-producing neurons.

Preserving dopamine-producing neurons can mean the difference between living life as a Parkinsons patient or aging normally, Lev said.

The peptide can be easily delivered by daily injections or absorbed into the skin through an adhesive patch.

The new peptide is structured from DJ-1 and has been shown to stop neurodegeneration, reducing problems with mobility and leading to greater protection of neurons and higher dopamine levels in the brain.

Lev said that this method, which has been published in a number of journals including the Journal of Neural Transmission, could be developed as a preventative therapy.

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New Peptide Therapy Stops Parkinson’s in Mice