Parkinson's disease is one of the most common movement and nervous system disorders. As this neurodegenerative disease progresses, patients may also develop dementia and other neurological disorders. In Spain alone, about 300,000 people suffer from Parkinson's disease, and worldwide, about 4.1 million people. The problem is not only that there is currently no cure, but that Parkinson's disease is still a completely unknown disease. Now, a drug commonly used against rheumatoid arthritis has shown some potential to be effective in treating the disorder.
It's more complicated to explain. But it all came to light at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (Idibell), whose researchers discovered that astrocytes, a type of brain cell, play an essential role in neuroinflammatory responses. What does this mean? “Astrocytes could be a potential target for future treatments for Parkinson's disease, especially because they are brain cells associated with the vascular system,” researcher Antonella Cosiglio tells this newspaper. The results of this study were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
In a clinical hospital
Idibell developed this research in collaboration with the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, which provided a group of patients studied. The study was conducted using human skin cells derived from affected and healthy patients. Researchers have found that many (though not all) Parkinson's patients have a “proinflammatory state,” which is characterized by high levels of inflammatory cytokines (a type of protein) in the plasma.
“We see that by preventing inflammation, you can prevent disease,” says this researcher.
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