There is no definitive cure for Parkinson’s. But an Indian scientist has reportedly found a way to do it.
Parkinson’s disease is a common brain disorder that affects older people. This is a degenerative brain complication in which dopamine levels drop and brain health deteriorates. Recently, a scientist from Mohali has shown how another brain hormone can help in a therapeutic solution for this disease.
The available medications can only minimize the symptoms but cannot cure the disease and this underlines the need to develop better therapeutic solutions for the disease.
Scientists from the Institute of Nanoscience and Technology (INST) Mohali, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have shown that nanoformulation of melatonin, the hormone produced by the brain in response to darkness, could provide therapeutic solution for Parkinson’s disease, IANS reported.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurological disorders caused by the death of dopamine-secreting neurons in the brain due to the aggregation of the protein synuclein inside them.
Previous studies have shown the implications of Parkinson’s-related genes in controlling a quality control mechanism called “mitophagy.” This mechanism identifies and eliminates dysfunctional mitochondria and reduces oxidative stress.
How can it work?
It has been shown that melatonin, used to treat insomnia, could be a potential inducer of mitophagy to mitigate Parkinson’s. To decode the molecular mechanism behind melatonin-mediated regulation of oxidative stress, the INST Mohali team used a nanoformulation of human serum albumin and delivered the drug to the brain.
The team led by Dr. Surajit Karmakar used a biocompatible protein nanocarrier (HSA) for the delivery of melatonin to the brain. They demonstrated that nanomelatonin resulted in sustained melatonin release and improved bioavailability.
Additionally, nanomelatonin boosted antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. Not only did it enhance mitophagy to eliminate unhealthy mitochondria, but it also enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis to counteract toxicity induced by a pesticide (rotenone) in an in vitro Parkinson’s model.
The improvement is due to the sustained release of melatonin and its targeted delivery to the brain, resulting in greater therapeutic efficacy compared to pure melatonin.
The increased antioxidant effect is a result of the induction of mitophagy by upregulating a crucial epigenetic regulator called BMI1 that controls gene expression. Reducing oxidative stress helps alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
Their findings, published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, highlighted the significantly better in vitro and in vivo neuroprotective effect of nanomelatonin, as well as the molecular/cellular dynamics it influences to regulate mitophagy.
(With inputs from IANS)
