Researchers at the University of Queensland have made a significant advancement in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease with the development of a new anti-inflammatory drug. This breakthrough could expedite the availability of effective therapies for a condition that affects millions globally.
Lead author Dr. Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda from the university’s School of Biomedical Sciences highlighted that tests conducted on mouse models demonstrated the drug’s ability to block inflammation in the brain, which in turn improved motor function. “Inflammation acts like a slow-burning fire in the brain, progressively damaging the neurons that produce dopamine, the chemical which controls movement,” Dr. Albornoz Balmaceda explained.
The study revealed that the drug specifically targets components of the immune system known as inflammasomes. By reducing inflammation in the brain, it prevents the further loss of neurons, effectively halting the progression of Parkinson’s disease.
Real-Time Imaging Provides Insight
The research team employed simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the university’s Centre for Advanced Imaging to observe the drug’s effects in real time. “What’s most exciting is we could actually see these changes happening in the living brain,” Dr. Albornoz Balmaceda noted. This innovative imaging technique provides a safe and powerful method to track both target engagement and disease progression, which is critical for designing future human clinical trials.
Senior author Professor Trent Woodruff, who leads UQ’s Neuroinflammation Lab, emphasized the importance of these findings as a major step towards developing disease-modifying therapies. “Parkinson’s is one of the fastest growing neurodegenerative diseases, and it is expected to impact more than 25 million people by 2050,” he stated. Current treatments primarily alleviate symptoms but do not significantly slow or halt the disease’s advancement. The new class of drugs aims to address this gap, with the PET/MRI biomarkers allowing researchers to measure the drug’s protective effects on the brain.
Collaboration and Future Implications
In the study, brain scans exhibited the typical loss of dopamine-producing neurons associated with Parkinson’s, but signals improved following treatment with the new drug. This innovative medication was developed by Inflazome, a company founded by Professor Luke O’Neill and co-corresponding author Professor Matt Cooper from UQ and Trinity College Dublin. Founded in 2016 through UQ’s commercialisation company UniQuest, Inflazome was later acquired by Roche.
The research received support from several esteemed organizations, including the NHMRC, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, and Shake It Up Australia Foundation. The findings have been published in the journal Brain, marking a promising step forward in the ongoing battle against Parkinson’s disease.
This new approach not only holds the potential to improve the lives of those affected by Parkinson’s but also paves the way for innovative therapies that could reshape the landscape of neurodegenerative disease treatment.
