Parkinson’s is a progressive and incurable disease, but scientists are making headway in understanding the cause and management of the condition. — Handout
Two teams of scientists have recently come up with potential breakthroughs for preventing a serious side effect of Parkinson’s disease and for better understanding the incurable neurodegenerative disease’s origins respectively.
Researchers from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom have found that wearable devices can help predict what is a high risk of falls among people with the disease.
Meanwhile, a team made up mostly of scientists from the University of California in the United States has “cast light” on the function of a molecule found to play a role in the disease’s onset.
The Oxford work shows “great promise in accurately assessing falls, and therefore, giving us the opportunity to start thinking of effective care planning”, according to the university’s Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences NeuroMetrology Lab head Associate Professor Dr Chrystalina Antoniades.
Her team’s research was published in the journal npj Digital Medicine.
Recent estimates suggest around 60% of Parkinson’s sufferers “have experienced at least one fall”, according to the Oxford team.
They warned that the tumbles “can lead to injury and hospitalisation, as well as reduced mobility, quality of life, and life expectancy”.
Meanwhile, research by the Californian scientists could offer “clues” to guide not only more research, but also “the rational design of more selective GPR6-targeting drugs that are more effective and have fewer side effects for patients”.
GPR6 is, according to the researchers, a “protein-coupled receptor that is emerging as a key player in Parkinson’s”.
The disease’s effects, which include tremors, rigidity, loss of mobility and eventual disability, are due in part to “the death of dopamine-releasing neurons” in a brain region that controls movement and cognition.
While dopamine restoration treatments can offer temporary relief, there is nothing to “halt the underlying degeneration of these neurons”.
Targeting via GPR6 could be promising, the team said, citing early trials of treatments elsewhere.
Their findings were published in the journal Science Signalling.
Other recent work by Japanese scientists has pointed to eating seaweed as a potential preventive against the disease. – dpa
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