Compound that blocks brain cell destruction in Parkinson's disease found by Scripps researchers

Scientists from the Florida campus of the USA’s Scripps Research Institute have produced the first known compound to show significant effectiveness in protecting brain cells directly affected by Parkinson's disease, a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

Although the findings were in animal models of the disease, the effectiveness of the compound, combined with its potential to be taken orally, offers the tantalizing possibility of a potentially useful future therapy for Parkinson's disease patients. The results were published in two separate studies in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

Findings may open door to first protective therapy