Nerve growth factor research in Finland has reported promising new results with potential implications for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Scientists have been studying the impacts of nerve growth factors in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, and their latest results show that a certain growth factor can be used to halt the progress of damage brought on by a nerve poison and possibly even restore the function of damaged cells.
Nerve growth factors are naturally occurring molecules in the body which stimulate the growth and differentiation of the sympathetic and certain sensory nerves.
Image: Illustration of nerve growth factor molecule.
These studies on nerve growth factors used an experimental Parkinson’s disease model in rats. Administration of the growth factor reduced motor disturbances in rats.
The severe motor disturbances that are seen in Parkinson’s disease are caused by the slow degeneration of dopamine nerves in the brain. There are treatments that alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as hand tremor, but they do not prevent or halt the degeneration of nerve cells. The nerve growth factors studied to date have slowed nerve cell degeneration to some extent, but they have had only limited therapeutic effect. Several known nerve growth factors, such as GDNF, also attach to extracellular tissue, possibly deterring their movement to nerve cells that require treatment.
Scientists led by Mart Saarma at the University of the Helsinki Institute of Biotechnology have now been investigating two new nerve growth factors. MANF (mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor) is released from glial cells in the midbrain and is a member of the same growth factor family as CDNF, another growth factor that Saarma’s team have investigated. A research team led by Professor Raimo K. Tuominen discovered that in the experimental Parkinson’s disease model, MANF and CDNF injections into the brain prevented dopamine nerve destruction caused by nerve poison and to some extent even restored the function of damaged cells in rats.
References:
1. Mart Saarma, et al. Mesencephalic Astrocyte-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Is Neurorestorative in Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease. The Journal of Neuroscience, July 29, 2009, 29(30):9651-9659; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0833-09.2009.
