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An experiment developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimores, USA) was able to slow the progression and symptoms of Parkinson's disease, according to the university.
Cell cultures of the human brain and a preclinical model of Parkinson's disease in rats have shown that the so-called NLY01 holds "neuronal degeneration", the intention to use the drug in trials clinics this year.
"The drug protects in a truly amazing way the target cells of the nervous system," said Ted Dawson, director of the Institute of Cell Engineering and professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
If clinical trials are NLY01 would be one of the first pharmacological treatments whose action would not only aim to improve muscle rigidity, tremors and dementia, among other Parkinson's symptoms, but also stop the progression of the disease, said Dawson.
The results of the study were published in the journal Digital Nature Medique
Against Diabetes
In a statement, Johns Hopkins University reported that NLY01 acts in a similar manner compounds used to increase blood glucose levels in people with diabetes.
Although the results of previous animal research have allowed us to conjecture the potential neurotransmitter of this type of diabetes medicine, it has not been possible to demonstrate concretely how this mechanism worked in the brain.
To find out, Dawson and his team tested the drug NLY01 on three types of brain cells of great relevance: astrocytes, microglia and neurons.
Destructive cells
Astrocytes, cells that allow sinless communication when they become "reactive" because of a chemical signal sent by microglia, they "rebel" and begin to "devour the points of contact with brain cells, which in turn causes neuronal death. " [19659002] In a preliminary experiment with human brain cells reproduced in vitro the Dawson team used NLY01 in human microglia and found that the activation signal did not occur and that astrocytes did not turn into cells
First experience
In a first experiment, Dawson's team injected a neurotransmitter into the body of a patient and was able to maintain its neuroprotective function .
Later, they tested the effectiveness of the drug. the alpha-synuclein protein, which is considered to be the leading cause of Parkinson's disease in ten rats that subsequently received NLY01.
In addition, the researchers injected alpha-synuclein into another gr
This second group of rats showed significant motor impairment in behavioral tests, while NLY01-treated mice retained both their normal physical functions and dopaminergic neurons, a clear
Second experiment
In a second experiment, scientists studied a group of mice that, by genetic modification, naturally produced an alpha protein
under normal conditions , the transgenic mice should die within 387 days, but the Dawson team observed that treatment with NLY01 prolonged the survival of 20 mice treated with the drug in more than 120 days.
After conducting a more comprehensive badysis, the researchers found that the brains of rats treated with the drug NLY01 showed little evidence of the neurodegenerative features of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the nervous system in a chronic and progressive way. According to the Parkinson's Foundation, this disease affects approximately 1 million people in the United States
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