A “hugely promising” new technique in which brain cells are reprogrammed could one day provide a cure for Parkinson’s disease, experts have said.
Scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have discovered a way to modify neurons in the brains of people with Parkinson’s, a progressively worsening disorder of the nervous system that affects one in 500 people in the UK.
The disease, which can cause slow movement and involuntary shaking, is a result of a lack of dopamine, a chemical that acts as a messenger in the brain.
For decades, researchers have been trying to develop a treatment that involves transplanting dopamine neurons grown in a laboratory directly into the brain.
But this new approach, described in the journal Nature Biotechnology, “offers a completely new way to replace cells that are lost in Parkinson’s”, said Professor David Dexter, deputy director of research for the charity Parkinson’s UK.
“This research is hugely promising,” said Prof Dexter. “Replacing the cells that are lost in Parkinson’s is a possible way to reverse its symptoms, and could one day be a cure for the condition.”
The researchers were able to change common brain cells known as astrocytes into cells resembling dopamine neurons after testing a number of genes known to play a role in the creation of dopamine.
