“This disease has no cure.” It is a lapidary and sober phrase, with a devastating effect that softens a bit when, next, this other one is pronounced: “But there are treatments.” This is the case of Parkinson’s, a degenerative condition of the brain that affects the nervous system in a chronic and progressive way.
Today, April 11, World Parkinson’s Day, seeks to give voice and prominence to this disease suffered by between 8 and 9 million people in the world. And we are talking about the second most common neurodegenerative disease today after Alzheimer’s. Research to find answers is vital: in the last 25 years, the number of cases has doubled. Parkinson’s is increasing more rapidly in frequency and its prevalence will continue to rise as the population ages.
The disease is associated with motor symptoms—slowness of movement, tremors, stiffness, and imbalance—and a wide variety of non-motor complications, including cognitive impairment, mental and sleep disorders, and pain and sensory disturbances. The progression of all this gives rise to high rates of disability that generate the need for permanent social and health care. Many people also develop dementia during the course of the disease.
The causes of Parkinson’s remain a mystery, although it is believed that it may be due to a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors and those derived from the aging of the organism itself. Another fact: it affects men more than women. The disease develops when neurons that produce dopamine (dopaminergic neurons), located in a region of the brain called the “substantia nigra,” degenerate and die. However, although it has been linked to alterations in different cellular processes, the cause of this neurodegeneration process is still unknown.
Fortunately, for the disease that bears the name of the doctor who first described it in 1817, there are some pharmacological treatments and therapies that improve the symptoms of those affected. However, they are only effective in controlling the initial motor symptoms of the disease, as they become ineffective as the disease progresses. It is, therefore, urgently needed to develop treatments to prevent or, at least, slow down the progress of the disease and improve the quality of life of patients. Something that is not possible without research. The â€la Caixa†Foundation wants to contribute to it.
Through three research projects, the institution works to advance in the understanding of the causes of the neurodegeneration process and to be able, in this way, to improve early diagnosis and develop new treatments.
Observation has concluded that, over time, dopaminergic neurons begin to accumulate a dark pigment, called “neuromelanin,” until they degenerate and die. The neurons that accumulate the most amount are those that degenerate preferentially. With all this information in hand, Dr. Miquel Vila’s team has developed a new experimental animal model of Parkinson’s that is opening new avenues for investigating the disease and its future treatments.
To do this, the researchers have generated laboratory mice that produce neuromelanin similar to that which accumulates in aged human brains, in order to study how the progressive accumulation of neuromelanin affects the functioning and survival of neurons. The purpose is none other than to find new therapies that eliminate or stop its accumulation in order to mitigate or even prevent the disease. This is work that has been recognized by the Michael J. Fox Foundation as one of the most outstanding advances in the field.
Given the lack of knowledge that exists around what causes the neurodegeneration process, there is a hypothesis that prevails over all the others. This suggests that the disease progresses from the peripheral nervous system to the brain, passing through the substantia nigra and extending, in advanced stages, to the cerebral cortex. One reason why Dr. Guglielmo Foffani’s team is investigating a new theory in which it is proposed that the cerebral cortex plays an important role in the origin of the pathology. The results obtained so far show early cortical alteration, which opens the door to early detection of Parkinson’s and the therapeutic possibility of acting on the cortex, for example, through non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, to modify the progression of the disease. disease.
A third study by the “la Caixa†Foundation sheds more light, this time, on the development of drugs that can act on the disease. It is known that it is a condition related to the aggregation of a protein called “alpha-synuclein” to dopaminergic neurons, which leads to their degeneration and death. Now, Dr. Ventura and his research group have discovered a series of molecules with the potential to attack the initial stages of the disease and stop or slow its progression. This is possible thanks to the ability of these molecules to inhibit, block or disintegrate the toxic aggregates of “alpha-synuclein”, which are what cause this progression. This could lead to the development of innovative treatments against neurodegenerative decline.
All these advances will be shared on April 27, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., in the online debate “Parkinson’s: a disease without a cure, but with treatments”, in which the three researchers leading the three projects will participate. This activity is part of a cycle of conversations that serve to highlight the work of research and health professionals who receive aid from the “la Caixa” Foundation, as well as becoming a meeting point between society and the scientific community. The debate can be followed free of charge by prior registration.
