Preclinical Study Finds a Way to Reverse Symptoms of Parkinson’s in Mice

University of Sydney researchers have, for the first time ever, targeted a malfunctioning protein in mice having symptoms akin to Parkinson’s symptoms and successfully improved motor function in the mice. This breakthrough finding could open the door to finding a similar way to treat Parkinson’s disease in humans. 

For more than 10 years, the team worked to establish the biological mechanisms which underpin Parkinson’s. Their interest was in uncovering new ways to slow the progression of the disease or even treat it. 

In 2017, they published research documenting SOD1 protein abnormalities within the brain and showed that these abnormalities were present in the brain matter of individuals living with Parkinson’s disease. Usually, SOD1 proteins play a protective role within the brain, but when one has Parkinson’s, the proteins form clumps, triggering brain cell damage. The clumping is linked to malfunctions within these vital proteins. 

This recent study shows that when SOD1 proteins are targeted with a drug, mice having symptoms similar to those in patients with Parkinson’s exhibited marked improvements in their motor function. 

Prof. Kay Double, who led the study, explains that the dramatic improvement observed in the mice suggests that a similar intervention in humans could yield the same outcome. 

In their study, the team bred mice to have Parkinson’s symptoms. These were then divided into two groups, with one group receiving a copper-based treatment while the other received a placebo. Over three months of treatment, the placebo group manifested worsening symptoms while the mice receiving the copper treatment showed improvements in motor function. 

Prof. Double reveals that as the scientific community increases its understanding of Parkinson’s, it is becoming clearer that many factors are at play in the development and progression of this neurodegenerative condition. He adds that successful treatment may therefore require a cocktail of interventions because one treatment alone is unlikely to deliver the desired outcome. 

The researchers are now figuring out how to conduct a clinical trial in humans to test whether this copper supplement they used in mice can have a similar effect in humans. 

Just over a million people in the U.S. have Parkinson’s disease and about 90,000 individuals are diagnosed with this condition annually. Finding effective ways to slow disease progression or reverse it would therefore have a positive impact on the lives of this growing section of the population. 

Enterprises like Clene Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNN) and others are focused on finding efficacious treatments that can treat this disease so that patients can get a reprieve from the grip of this condition. As more studies are conducted, breakthrough interventions are likely to be commercialized in the not-too-distant future. 

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Clene Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CLNN 

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