You may have seen the news this week about the latest “cure” for Parkinson’s Disease.
“A cure may be on the horizon for Parkinson’s as scientists have found an experimental drug can slow down its progression and stop symptoms.
NLY01 has been called ‘amazingly protective’ as preliminary trials showed it blocked brain cells from dying.”
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are optimistic that the drug NLY01 will go to clinical trials on humans later this year. The drug, which is similar to those used to treat diabetes, was able to slow Parkinson’s progression and ease symptoms in mouse trials. We have been hearing a lot in the last few years about repurposing diabetes medications for Parkinson’s Disease, so this new drug trial seems to be a logical next step in the development of a drug specifically for PD.
Should you go out and scream from the mountain tops that the cure has been found? Probably not yet. But this trial gives us reason to be cautiously optimistic. Researchers are investigating so many different angles to delaying or stopping the disease, that at least one of them may just be what we have been waiting for.
Will NLY01 work for everyone with PD, no matter what stage they are in? That is a question that still needs to be answered with the upcoming clinical trials. But if this new drug can really stop PD in its tracks for those who have been newly diagnosed, it will be a game changer. While Parkies have already shown that we can lead productive, healthy and long lives, if NYL01 actually delivers on its potential, it could make that better, easier and who knows, maybe even cheaper.
If you are a science geek, you can read about the study here: “Block of A1 astrocyte conversion by microglia is neuroprotective in models of Parkinson’s disease,” which was published in Nature Medicine. For the rest of us, click on NLY01 instead, which is written in language that most of us can comprehend.
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