 |
 |
Dopamine-like drug my help Parkinson's JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. study shows that a drug that mimics the effects of dopamine causes neurons to develop in the brain where cells have been lost due to Parkinson's disease. The study suggests that drugs that affect dopamine D3 receptors might trigger new neurons to grow in humans with the disease. Some of these drugs are commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease, according to Christopher Eckman and Jackalina Van Kampen of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Fla. "This is the first study to show that endogenous neurogenesis (development of new neurons from cells already in the brain) can lead to recovery of function in an animal model of Parkinson's disease," says Eckman. Eckman and Van Kampen are looking at how different doses of the drug pramipexole and similar drugs affect neurogenesis. Once they identify the most effective doses in animals, the researchers might be able to test comparable doses in humans. The findings are reported in the Journal of Neuroscience. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn