 |
 |
Now this looks really promising...! Nic 57/15 On Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 8:51 PM, mschild <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hitting cell hot spot could help thwart Parkinson's disease > The latest work to 'turn off the taps' in the brain and stop a chemical > being > released in excess amounts – which can lead to Parkinson's Disease – will > be > presented at The British Pharmacological Society's Summer Meeting in > Edinburgh > today (Wednesday, 8 July 2009). > Dr Susan Duty from King's College London will present her latest work, > aimed > at stimulating 'trigger points' to stop the release of a chemical that can > kill brain cells, at a special symposium that focuses on research into new > types of drugs for treating disorders of the central nervous system. > Parkinson's disease is a degenerative brain disorder that is triggered by > death or degeneration of nerve cells in a part of the brain called > substantia > nigra. This brain region is essential in maintaining normal movement so > when > the cells start to die off, patients lose ability to properly execute and > control movements. > Dr Duty is aiming to find a way to slow down, stop or, even better, reverse > the cell death process. > She says one of the contributing factors to nerve cell death is an excess > of > the chemical glutamate in the motor control pathways in the brain. An > excess > of this chemical changes the way these pathways operate and makes movement > even less well controlled. > But more importantly, glutamate is one of the factors considered > responsible > for the demise of the brain cells. > At the symposium, which will be attended by leading UK and international > pharmacologists, Dr Duty will be presenting her latest work on ways to stop > glutamate being released. > Dr Duty said: "The way we hope to achieve this is by stimulating protein > targets on the nerve cell called metabotropic glutamate receptors. Certain > types of these receptors, when stimulated, are known to prevent release of > glutamate in other brain regions. We, and others, have now taken these > ideas > into regions relevant to Parkinson's disease in the hope of reversing both > the > clinical signs and cell death associated with this condition." > Dr Duty says that current drugs can only treat the symptoms but not the > underlying cause of the disease: "They provide relief of symptoms by > replacing > the chemical, dopamine, which the dying cells would normally secrete in > order > to maintain proper control of movement. > "However, they do little to combat the ongoing progressive cell death > meaning > that symptoms get worse, higher doses of drug are needed to control the > worsening symptoms, the result being appearance of disabling side-effects > such > as involuntary flailing limb movements and painful twisting of joints. > "Given the disease is progressive in nature, the continued death of cells > in > the substantia nigra leads to gradual worsening of symptoms and decline in > patients' quality of life over time. Finding drugs that can provide > protection > or repair to the dying cells – as well as relieve the clinical signs of > Parkinson's – is therefore a key area of interest in this field." > Dr Duty and colleagues have recently published findings showing that > stimulating certain classes of metabotropic glutamate receptor can reverse > symptoms in a preclinical model of Parkinson's disease. > "More recently, we have identified which specific type of receptor is > involved," she says. "By targeting specific receptors it is hoped that > side- > effects will be minimised as fewer targets elsewhere in the brain will be > stimulated. > "We also have good evidence now that stimulating these receptors can > provide > protection to the dopamine-containing nerve cells in preclinical models of > Parkinson's disease and that the protected nerve cells function normally > and > are able to help restore movement control." > The BPS Summer Meeting will be held at The University of Edinburgh from > Wednesday 8 to Friday 10 July 2009. > It brings together leading pharmacologists from the UK, Europe and beyond, > with presentations on the latest pharmacological developments to tackle a > range of conditions, including respiratory disease, Alzheimer's, > Parkinson's, > stroke and atherosclerosis. > Dr Duty will give a presentation – 'Group III metabotropic glutamate > receptors > (mGluRs) as potential targets for the treatment of Parkinson's disease' – > at a > symposium entitled 'Metabotropic glutamate receptors: advancing novel drugs > for treating CNS disorders' on Wednesday 8 July 2009. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto: > [log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn