New findings on dopamine disruption could point towards treatments targeting Parkinson’s disease at an earlier stage, researchers suggest.
Scientists found that disease-causing genetic mutations can disrupt the brain’s production of dopamine.
The findings could help researchers investigate treatments aimed at vulnerable neurons earlier in the disease process.
Researchers at Northwestern University examined mechanisms affecting dopamine-producing neurons in Parkinson’s disease and said the work could provide a starting point for developing new medication.
Loukia Parisiadou, assistant professor of pharmacology at Northwestern, said: “This is the core of Parkinson’s disease.
She added: “If we understand what mechanisms are behind the dysfunction of these vulnerable neurons early, then we can perhaps do better, and target these neurons early and achieve disease-modifying therapies.”
Dopamine plays an important role in day-to-day functions including thinking and planning.
It is also involved in feelings of reward or satisfaction, including while taking drugs.
A dopamine deficit contributes to Parkinson’s and can be seen in the stiff and awkward movements caused by the disease.
Two years ago, researchers at the University of California reported details of a potential treatment pathway involving a molecule called GPR6.
They noted that restoring dopamine can provide temporary relief but does not stop the underlying degeneration of these neurons.
In 2021, University of Cambridge-led researchers reported findings involving a key protein that affects neurons in Parkinson’s disease.
In January this year, scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and the University of Oslo said they had detected early-stage Parkinson’s biomarkers in blood, potentially allowing earlier diagnosis through blood tests.
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