WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CHALLIYIL ESWARAMANGALATH VIPIN
Nicotine protects the brain against the loss of dopamine neurons, a characteristic sign of Parkinson’s disease, according to a study published this week in The FASEB Journal. By activating the alpha-7 nicotinic receptor, nicotine—which increases dopamine levels in the brain—appears to be able to rescue mouse dopaminergic neurons cultured under conditions that favor their loss. Genetically engineered mouse cells that lacked a specific nicotine receptor (the alpha-7 subtype), however, were unaffected by nicotine treatment.
The findings suggest that new Parkinson's therapies may be developed to target nicotine receptors, FierceBiotech reports. "This study raises the hope for a possible neuroprotective treatment," said co-author Patrick P. Michel of the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, in Paris, France, in a statement.
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