Rapamycin prevents Parkinson's in mouse model of incurable neurodegenerative disease
Thursday, September 17, 2015 - 12:30
in Biology & Nature
Rapamycin, a drug that extends lifespan in several species, prevented Parkinson's disease in middle-age mice that were genetically fated to develop the incurable neurodegenerative disease. While rapamycin did great things for the mice, scientists also got an unexpected plus from the research -- a new understanding of the role parkin plays in cellular dynamics, one that challenges the current dogma in PD research and presents new opportunities for drug discovery.