Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers have discovered that the protein BMP5/7 offers promising therapeutics that could slow down or halt the progression of Parkinson’s disease. The findings were published in the prestigious clinical neurology journal, Brain.
Parkinson’s disease, which affects over one million people in U.S. and 10 million worldwide, causes tremors and severe movement impairment due to progressive degeneration of dopamine-producing brain cells. It is believed that the protein “alpha-synuclein,” present in all human brains, mis-folds and forms toxic clumps in these cells, which causes the disease.
While current Parkinson’s disease therapies improve symptoms, they are not effective in advanced illness stages and, unfortunately, do not slow or cure the disease. Dr. Claude Brodski, M.D., head of the BGU’s Laboratory for Molecular Neuroscience, discovered that BMP5/7 signalling in neurons was significantly reduced in dopamine-producing brain cells, which could contribute to Parkinson’s disease advancement.
More from News
- Trump Lifts Sanctions in Syria: What Does This Mean For Syrian Businesses?
- Retail Cyber Attacks: Cartier And North Face Are The Next Retailers Affected
- A Look At The Different Technologies Volvo Is Bringing To Its Cars
- Klarna Launches Debit Card To Diversify Away From BNPL
- T-Mobile Now Has Fibre Internet Plans Available For Homes
- Bitdefender Finds 84% of Attacks Use Built In Windows Tools, Here’s How
- Japan Starts Clinical Trials For Artificial Blood Which Is Compatible With All Blood Types
- UK Unicorn Monzo Breaks £1 Billion in Revenue
“Indeed, we found that BMP5/7 treatment can, in a Parkinson’s disease mouse model, efficiently prevent movement impairments caused by the accumulation of alpha-synuclein and reverse the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells,” says Dr. Brodski. “These findings are very promising, since they suggest that BMP5/7 could slow or stop Parkinson’s disease progression. Currently, we are focusing all our efforts on bringing our discovery closer to clinical application.”
BGN Technologies, Ben-Gurion University’s technology transfer company, has filed several patent applications covering this breakthrough discovery.
Dr. Galit Mazooz Perlmuter, senior vice president of business development, bio-pharma at BGN Technologies, notes, “There is a vast need for new therapies to treat Parkinson’s disease, especially in advanced stages of the disease. Dr. Brodski’s findings, although still in their early stages, offer a disease-modified drug target that will address this devastating condition. We are now seeking an industry partner for further development of this patent pending invention.”
