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Study to aid Parkinson’s

The discovery of the two compounds, said to be a breakthrough, could be available as a safe-to-use medicine to treat the disease within five to seven years.

“Once developed into a drug, this would be better than those available in the market,” said Professor Omar El Agnaf, Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU).

Prof Omar and his team undertook the two-and-half-year long study titled ‘The role of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease: from molecular pathways in the disease to therapeutic approaches’.

The study was supported by School of Chinese Medicine Hong Kong and Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences. “We were sent 40 extracts of which three were identified and two good compounds were found,” said the professor.

The compounds extracted from the plants can curb the dysfunction of the protein ‘alpha-synuclein’ in cells and animal models of Parkinson’s disease.

“Chinese medicine has been practiced for thousands of years to treat neurodegenerative diseases and even some cancers,” Prof Omar said adding that “75 per cent of drugs are originally developed from plants and then chemically synthesised.”

It also proves the important role played by some of these compounds in protecting the nerve cells that are responsible for the production of ‘Dopamine’, a neurotransmitter that is primarily responsible for controlling the motor functions in human bodies.

Professor Najib Al Khaja, Secretary-General of the awards, said the result opens a new door towards finding a promising treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

Following Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the world among the diseases associated with the damaging of nerve cells.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com