Científicos
de la Universidad de Edimburgo crean por primera vez células nerviosas
cerebrales de un tipo de Parkinson de progresión muy rápida. Esta investigación
ha sido publicada en Nature Communications y ayudará mucho en la investigación y desarrollo de
nuevos fármacos.
Para
crear estas células nerviosas del cerebro, los científicos usaron muestras de
piel de un paciente el cual padece una forma de Parkinson que progresa muy rápidamente,
el cual puede ser diagnosticado en la treintena. Aunque esta forma de Parkinson
no es la más común, la proteína implicada está vinculada en la mayoría de casos
de la enfermedad.
Al
ser un tipo de Parkinson que progresa rápidamente, ayudará mejor a ver los
efectos de los fármacos probados, y lograr el objetivo de encontrar fármacos
que puedan prevenir la muerte de las neuronas que se descomponen a causa de
esta enfermedad.
Stem cell study offers hope for Parkinson's patients
Scientists have for the first time generated stem
cells from one of the most rapidly progressing forms of Parkinson's disease.
The development will help
research into the condition as it will enable scientists to model the disease
in the laboratory to shed light on why certain nerve cells die.
Scientists, funded with a
£300,000 grant from the charity Parkinson's UK, took skin samples from a
patient diagnosed with one of the most progressive types of Parkinson's.
The research, led by the
University of Edinburgh in collaboration with UCL (University College London),
then used these skin cells to generate brain nerve cells affected by the
disease.
The ability to generate these
nerve cells will make it easier to monitor the effectiveness of potential new
drugs that could slow or halt progress of the condition.
The aim would be to find drugs
that can prevent the death of these key cells - known as neurons - which break
down as a result of Parkinson's.
Dr Tilo Kunath, of the University
of Edinburgh's Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine, said:
"Current drugs for Parkinson's alleviate symptoms of the condition.
Modelling the disease in a dish with real Parkinson's neurons enables us to
test drugs that may halt or reverse the condition.
"This study provides an
ideal platform to gain fresh insight into the condition, and opens a new area
of research to discover disease-modifying drugs."
The neuron cells were generated
from a patient with a form of Parkinson's that progresses rapidly and can be diagnosed
in people in their early 30s.
People with this form of
Parkinson's have twice as many of the genes that produce a protein - alpha
synuclein - compared with the general population.
Although this form of Parkinson's
is rare the protein involved is linked to virtually all types of the disease.
Dr Michael Devine, of the UCL
Institute of Neurology said, "Understanding such a progressive form of the
disease will give us insight into different types of Parkinson's. As this type
of Parkinson's progresses rapidly it will also make it easier to pick up the
effects of drugs tested to prevent nerve cells targeted by the disease from
dying."
The research was published in the
journal Nature
Communications.
Dr Kieran Breen, Director of
Research and Development at Parkinson's UK, said: "Although the genetic
mutation that leads to this progressive form of Parkinson's is rare this
exciting study has the potential to bring about a huge breakthrough in
Parkinson's research.
"This
is just the kind of innovative research that Parkinson's UK is committed to
funding as we move closer to a cure."
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