Diabetes drug glibenclamide could delay progression of Parkinson's disease
Credit: The diabetic medication, Glibenclamide, which prevents the effects of alpha synuclein on neuronal excitability
Researchers at University of Warwick have found in a new study that Diabetes drug glibenclamide could slow the progression of Parkinson's disease.
The paper 'Alpha-synuclein aggregates increase the conductance of substantia nigra dopamine neurons, an effect partly reversed by the KATP channel inhibitor glibenclamide,' has been published in the journal eNeuro.
A hallmark of Parkinson's disease is the degeneration of a group of dopaminergic neurons in the brain, which play key roles in movement initiation and co-ordination. When these neurons degenerate it leads to akinesia, bradykinesia, rigidity and tremor.
The effected dopaminergic neurons accumulate a specific protein called alpha synuclein which forms structures called Lewy bodies; with the number of these Lewy bodies present correlating with the severity of the disease. Early stages in the aggregation of the protein produce small species which have a range of toxic effects, many of which are not yet fully defined.
In the paper researchers from the University of Warwick have found that by introducing low concentrations of structurally-defined aggregates of alpha synuclein protein into single dopaminergic neurons, a channel in the cell membrane is opened, which greatly reduces neuronal excitability.
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