Washington, May 3 : Researchers are developing a preventive therapy to halt symptoms in Parkinson's patients.

Parkinson's disease is characterized by a gradual loss of neurons that produce dopamine. Mutations in the gene known as DJ-1 lead to accelerated loss of dopaminergic neurons and result in the onset of Parkinson's symptoms at a young age.

The ability to modify the activity of DJ-1 could change the progress of the disease, said Dr. Nirit Lev, a researcher at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and a movement disorders specialist at Rabin Medical Center.

Working in collaboration with Profs. Dani Offen and Eldad Melamed, Dr. Lev has now developed a peptide which mimics DJ-1's normal function, thereby protecting dopamine- producing neurons. What's more, the peptide can be easily delivered by daily injections or absorbed into the skin through an adhesive patch.

Based on a short protein derived from DJ-1 itself, the peptide has been shown to freeze neurodegeneration in its tracks, reducing problems with mobility and leading to greater protection of neurons and higher dopamine levels in the brain.

Dr. Lev said that this method could be developed as a preventative therapy.

As we age, we naturally lose dopamine-producing neurons. Parkinson's patients experience a rapid loss of these neurons from the onset of the disease, leading to much more drastic deficiencies in dopamine than the average person.

Preserving dopamine-producing neurons can mean the difference between living life as a Parkinson's patient or aging normally, said Dr. Lev.

The researchers set out to develop a therapy based on the protective effects of DJ-1, using a short peptide based on the healthy version of DJ-1 itself as a vehicle.

'We attached the DJ-1-related peptide to another peptide that would allow it to enter the cells, and be carried to the brain,' explained Dr. Lev.

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Soon, therapy to freeze Parkinson's in its tracks