THE ESSENTIAL
- Nanoparticle treatment, combined with light therapy, reversed the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in mice.
- After treatment, the rodents moved almost as well as mice that were not sick.
- The mice’s brain tissue, which the researchers analyzed, showed repair of neurons and a reduction in toxic protein clumps.
In France, 272,500 suffer from Parkinson’s disease, and each year there are 25,000 new cases, according to the Ministry of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families. This neurodegenerative pathology is characterized by the destruction of certain neurons in the brain and the accumulation of protein clumps that are toxic to nerve cells.
Nanoparticles combined with light therapy
People who suffer from it have three main motor symptoms: akinesia (slowness in the implementation and coordination of movements), hypertonia (abnormal rigidity of the muscles) and tremors, which mainly affect the hands and arms. . Currently, no treatment can prevent the progression of the disease.
But researchers may have just developed a new one. This is based on nanoparticles which, combined with light therapy, succeeded in reversing the symptoms of this pathology in mice. Their study is published in the journal Science Advances.
This wireless nanosystem, called “ATB NPs”, has three characteristics:
– A gold shell that converts infrared light into gentle heat
– A molecule that helps nanoparticles attach to neurons
-– A therapeutic protein that breaks down toxic protein clumps
In practice, ATB NPs is administered to patients by an injection. At the same time, doctors project infrared light onto the patient’s skull which activates the process: the nanoparticles heat up, which helps restore normal neuron function while triggering the brain’s natural cleansing systems to eliminate the accumulation of clumps. toxic proteins.
Parkinson’s symptoms reversed
In the laboratory, scientists tested “ATB NPs” on mice that had the same symptoms as Parkinson’s disease patients. They received an injection and weekly light therapy sessions for five weeks. Results: The rodents moved almost as well as mice that were not sick.
The scientists then analyzed their brain tissue and observed two beneficial effects: the repair of neurons (which were previously damaged) and a reduction in toxic protein clumps.
Further research will be needed to confirm the effectiveness of this treatment. But, if clinical trials prove conclusive, “ATB NPs” could constitute a new therapeutic solution, less restrictive than those that currently exist, to slow down and perhaps even reverse the damage caused by Parkinson’s disease.
