In the News
World Parkinson’s Day: How Science Is Battling the Disease
Source: BioSpace
April 11 is World Parkinson’s Day, designed to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease of the nervous system that affects movement. Symptoms start small, usually with a barely noticeable tremor or shaking in one hand. Over time, the tremors will become more pronounced, movements may slow, making everyday tasks more difficult. Muscle stiffness may occur, as well as impaired posture and balance, and changes to speech.
Here’s a look at some of the advancements biopharma has made in treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation Grants $1 Million to Inflazome
Recently, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) granted Dublin and Cambridge, UK-based Inflazome more than $1 million. The money will be used to fund the development of a NLRP3-specific Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracer that allows non-invasive imaging of inflammasome-driven brain inflammation.
Inflammasomes, the company indicates, create signals that stimulate immune cells to fight infections. Under normal circumstances, this is beneficial. But when the immune system is activated without control, the inflammation is linked to a broad range of disease, including Alzheimer’s, arthritis and various cardiovascular conditions.
Inflazome focuses on developing ways of blocking inflammasome signaling to eliminate unwanted inflammation. The NLPR3 inflammasome is believed to drive chronic inflammation linked to many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease. The PET tracer is designed to determine what dosages are needed for clinical trials.