Scientists make breakthrough with Parkinson's treatment

Research scientists have identified the reason why dopamine replacement therapy can sometimes adversely affect cognition rather than improve it.

Dr Oury Monchi, an expert in neuronal modeling and head of the Neurophysiological and Neuroimaging Research theme at the Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de geriatrie de Montreal (IUGM), affiliated with the Universite de Montreal, and Dr Penny A MacDonald, neurologist and postdoctoral fellow, identified the reasons during a clinical laboratory study.

The part of the brain most affected by dopamine depletion as a result of Parkinson's disease is the striatum which is divided into several structures.

In Parkinson's disease, the dorsal striatum is more severely affected while the ventral striatum remains largely unaffected in the early stages.

"We observed that while dopamine replacement therapy enhances the functions of the dorsal striatum, it is at the expense of the ventral striatum which suffers a dopamine overdose, impairing its function", Dr Monchi explained.

Dr MacDonald suggested that the findings will allow scientists to explore different treatments which could improve overall health.