Scientists Discover Brain Pathway That May Slow Parkinson’s Disease – but Only in Women

Scientists Discover Brain Pathway That May Slow Parkinson’s Disease – but Only in Women

A newly identified protective brain pathway may help preserve vulnerable neurons in Parkinson’s disease. Scientists have identified a brain pathway that could help slow Parkinson’s disease by protecting the brain’s dopamine-producing neurons. However, the benefit was seen only in females. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers found that increasing the activity [...]

Targeting protective pathway in brain may help slow Parkinson's

Researchers at Texas A&M University have identified a protective brain pathway — one linked to receptors responsive to nicotine but not requiring the tobacco plant chemical itself — that may be targeted to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. In a mouse model of Parkinson’s, boosting the number of nicotine-responsive receptors in the brain prevented the death of dopamine-producing neurons, the nerve cells whose loss marks the neurodegene…