New antioxidant category ‘could be used to treat Parkinson’s’

Researchers in the US have identified a new and powerful class of antioxidants that offers great potential as the basis for Parkinson's disease therapies.

The Georgia Health Sciences University team has conducted research that uses synthetic triterpenoids to bolster product of the natural antioxidant Nf2, a key regulator of oxidative stress and inflammation that is typically reduced among those affected by the disease.

Study author Dr Bobby Thomas, a neuroscientist at the university's Medical College of Georgia, said: "In Parkinson's patients you can clearly see a significant overload of oxidative stress, which is why we chose this target. We used drugs to selectively activate Nrf2."

The treatment was shown to block development of Parkinson's in an animal model that develops the disease in a handful of days, with the team now hoping to determine whether it can also be used to combat naturally-developing forms.

NHS estimates show that around one in 500 people are affected by Parkinson's disease, with 127,000 people in the UK currently living with the condition.