Novel compound keeps Parkinson's symptoms at bay in mice

Onyou Hwang, Ki Duk Park and colleagues explain that PD, which affects an estimated 4 million to 10 million people worldwide, is a progressive movement disorder with no known cure. It often starts with slight tremors and gets worse over time. Muscles go stiff. Walking becomes difficult. Speech is slurred. No one knows for certain what causes the disease, but research has shown that it's linked with the loss of nerve cells in the brain that secrete dopamine, a chemical that is involved in movement and emotion. To find a potential new therapy for PD, the research team searched for a way to shield these brain cells.

They made 56 compounds and tested them to see which ones boosted the production of proteins that protect dopamine-releasing neurons from damage. Of those, one, which they call "12g," proved to be the most active. Interestingly, it protected mice from developing PD-like symptoms in one laboratory test. "Taken together, 12g was found to effectively prevent the motor deficits that are associated with PD," they say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, the Korea Health Technology R&D Project, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korea Research Council of Fundamental Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of Korea.