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UW team finds key to Parkinson's prevention The Capital Times - 2/03/2009 12:23 pm A University of Wisconsin-Madison research team has unlocked clues on how to possibly prevent Parkinson's disease -- by boosting a gene that prevents a toxic chemical from destroying neurons in a region of the brain that regulates movement. UW-Madison pharmacy professor Jeffrey Johnson and colleagues Pei-Chun Chen, Marcelo Vargas and Delinda Johnson studied what effect boosting the Nrf-2 protein would have in blocking MPTP, a chemical that kills neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain. The studies in mice showed the enhanced amount of protein neutralized the toxic chemical. "This complete abolition of toxicity was far greater than we expected," Johnson said. "It was striking." The findings were published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Clinical human trials of boosting Nrf-2 proteins are at least two years away, Johnson said in a release from UW-Madison News. Parkinson's disease is a disabling and sometimes fatal disease that afflicts 1.5 million Americans, including 60,000 new cases a year. Symptoms include tremors and sluggish movement, attributed to the death of nerve cells in the substantia nigra brain region. If trials are successful, the findings could also be helpful in treating other diseases because Nrf-2 protects brain cells in fatal diseases including Alzheimer's ALS and Huntington's disease. The Capital Times - 2/03/2009 12:23 pm Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn