JERUSALEM, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have discovered a new method for treating Parkinson's disease, Ben Gurion University (BGU) said Monday.
More than 10 million people worldwide suffer from the disease, in which there is a gradual degeneration of brain cells, causing severe mobility impairments and eventual death.
In the study published in the journal Brain, the researchers found that brain proteins called BMP5/7 promise a new treatment for Parkinson's through disruption of the disease's development pathway.
The researchers found that the function of this protein was significantly reduced in the brain cells of Parkinson's patients.
In their experiments, the team used genetic engineering tools to reduce protein expression in mice brain cells.
It was found that the reduction in the amount of this protein led to an accumulation of toxic precipitates and death of brain cells as occurs in Parkinson's patients.
"This finding is very exciting because it offers a treatment that, unlike existing ones, can slow or stop the progression of Parkinson's," the researchers concluded. Enditem
