Parkinson’s disease
What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s is a progressive disease that causes problems with movement, including tremor, muscle rigidity and slowing down of movement. It is due to the premature death of nerve cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra. Normally, these cells produce a chemical messenger known as dopamine, which is responsible for the smooth, coordinated functioning of the body’s muscles. But as more and more brain cells die or are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear.
Around 120,000 people in the UK have Parkinson’s disease. The symptoms usually occur after the age of 50 and progress slowly, although younger people can also be affected. Parkinson’s disease is treated with drugs that help to control some or all of its symptoms. Or, if the disease is severe, the symptoms can be treated with a type of surgery called deep brain stimulation, which relies on electrodes that stimulate nerves deep in the brain.
A snapshot of MRC research into Parkinson’s disease
The MRC is currently funding around a dozen major studies into Parkinson’s disease. These range from studying the underlying causes of the disease, to testing the effectiveness of new drug and surgical treatments and comparing current treatments with each other. Here are some examples:
- Professor Peter Brown and co-workers at the University College London Institute of Neurology are trying to understand how abnormalities in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia contribute to Parkinson’s disease. They hope that their results will lead to the development of better treatments for the disease.
- Also at the Institute of Neurology, Professor Nick Wood and his team are investigating the role of the Park 6 gene in Parkinson’s disease. They have already identified a protein linked to Park 6 that is faulty in patients with hereditary Parkinson’s disease and are now looking for other proteins and genes that may be involved.
- At Birmingham University Professor Adrian Williams is carrying out a clinical trial involving up to 600 Parkinson’s disease patients. The trial is assessing the long-term risks and benefits of surgery, and its cost-effectiveness.
- Professor Tipu Aziz and colleagues at Oxford University are researching how faults in the brain’s ‘pedunculopontine’ region play a part in akinesia – a Parkinson’s symptom where patients have difficulty in starting to move.
- Akinesia can freeze patients’ movement, making them immobile for up to 10 seconds as they urge themselves to walk. It is one of the most disturbing and least understood symptoms of Parkinsons’ disease. Dr Brian Day’s team at the Institute of Neurology are investigating the possibility of a prosthetic device that could help patients to overcome this immobility.