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South Korean specialists have created a drug to treat Parkinson's
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Scientists from South Korea have managed to create a new substance that effectively fights Parkinson's disease. They published their work in one of the scientific journals.
Parkinson's disease affects mainly older people, which over time destroys brain cells. The action of the new drug in the human body is aimed at the production of special proteins that prevent the destruction of brain neurons.
During animal studies, it was found that the new substance is more effective than currently available drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. In addition, the new drug has far fewer side effects.
Before the discovery of the new drug, doctors in the world used selective inhibitors, dopamine receptor agonists to treat the disease. But a research team led by Dr. Park Ki-Dok (an employee of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology) and Professor Hwayo On-Gyu (an employee of the University of Ulsan) created a completely new drug, which, according to scientists, is more effective than seligin, which is widely used to treat Parkinson's, in addition, the new drug has an order of magnitude fewer side effects.
The new drug, when entering the body, leads to an increase in some proteins that block the disruption of brain functions. As experts note, the drug directly affects the brain and increases the level of proteins. The effectiveness of the new drug is 1.5 times greater than that of other modern drugs. At present, scientists only have data from animal studies, but in the near future they plan to test the new drug on patients in clinics. Additional studies of the drug will help determine whether the disease can be completely defeated or not.
Every year, April 11 is celebrated as the Day of the Fight against Palsy. The name of the disease is given in honor of a British doctor who described the symptoms of the disease in his "Essay on the Shaking Palsy". One of the main symptoms of the disease is trembling of the limbs, speech and motor function disorders. Over time, as the disease progresses, problems with coordination of movement are observed, sometimes due to the disease a person may end up in a wheelchair.
Scientists associate the impairment of motor function in the disease with a deficiency of dopamine in certain areas of the brain, which leads to the death of cells that produce this neurotransmitter.
Recently, a group of scientists from Krasnoyarsk proposed a new method for treating Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. For ten years, specialists have been studying these diseases and have recently been able to identify certain molecules that are responsible for the development of pathological processes in the brain. This discovery will enable researchers to develop a new drug that could prevent the destruction of brain cells. In addition, the discovery of such molecules will help the pharmaceutical industry in creating new, more effective drugs.
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