An oral medication aimed at slowing the advance of Parkinson’s disease was well-tolerated in 150 people who took it over 28 days, according to clinical trial results published in Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday (June 8). The trial did not assess whether the drug affected the disease’s progress in humans. However, the study’s authors write that their experiments in animals and in cells suggest that the treatment may correct the dysfunction in cellular lysosomes that causes the disease.
“This is a very, very important step forward,” Patrick Lewis, a neuroscientist at the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College who was not involved in the research, tells Science.
Parkinson’s disease can occur when LRRK2 enzymes in the brain accumulate at such high levels that they damage lysosomes, organelles that remove toxins from the brain, reports the Financial Times. “Lysosomes perform a garbage disposal and recycling role for cells,” Carole Ho, Denali’s ...
