At Vanvitelli, 2 more Parkinson's warning signs discovered, towards new drugs

Two new markers of Parkinson's disease have been identified in the brain, enabling the development of new therapies to slow the progression of the disease and limit side effects. Published in two articles in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, the discovery is the result of international research conducted in Italy, the United States, France, and Japan.

The two indicators are high levels of the amino acids D-serine and L-serine, which in people with Parkinson's compensate for the progressive loss of neurons that produce dopamine, the neurotransmitter that also plays an important role in controlling movement. "Thanks to the results of this research, it will be possible in the future to test innovative therapeutic approaches aimed at improving the clinical picture and more effectively combating the progression of this devastating disease," observes research coordinator Alessandro Usiello, Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania and Director of the Translational Neuroscience Laboratory at Ceinge Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore in Naples.

“To date – he continues – the treatment of Parkinson's is in fact limited due to the side effects (dyskinesias) produced by the main drug used since the 60s, L-dopa, and has not yet been able to fill the cognitive and behavioral deficits refractory to the treatments currently available for patients. Therefore, combinatorial therapeutic approaches will be the subject of future research”. The Mediterranean Neurological Institute Neuromed of Pozzilli, Columbia University of New York, Keio University School of Medicine of Tokyo, the Institute of Neuroscience of Bordeaux, the universities of Rome Tor Vergata and Cattolica of Rome, the 'Federico II of Naples and the University of Cagliari collaborated on the study.