A new era of discovery for Parkinson’s Disease

Alessio Travaglia, director of neuroscience at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), on the outlook for new Parkinson's treatments.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to move. When certain cells in the brain start to die, the process causes a decrease in a chemical called dopamine.

As a result, individuals with Parkinson's disease may experience difficulty with everyday activities, such as walking, talking and writing, along with common symptoms, like tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement and difficulty with balance.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, and the number of patients is rising. The number of Parkinson’s patients is expected to increase to 1.2 million in the U.S. alone by 2030, posing a growing threat to public health.

The disease costs the US$52 billion per year in direct and indirect costs. Although the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease are well known, and there are several genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors associated with PD, the underlying causes are still unknown.

Breakthroughs are needed to improve treatment and quality of life for patients, but no disease-modifying drugs have been approved for Parkinson's disease despite extensive research.

Drug discovery is a complex and time-consuming process involving the identification of new compounds that can be used to treat a particular disease.

Read on to find out how the Accelerating Medicines Partnership Program Parkinson’s Disease (AMP PD) is working to advance PD drug discovery.