Parkinson's May Be Addressed via New Class of Antioxidants

Scientists believe that a new class of antioxidants may be used successfully in the fight against Parkinson's. In the near future, therapies currently in use against this condition may be augmented by these molecules, which are heralded as a way to provide a relief in symptoms severity.

The powerful molecules are known as synthetic triterpenoids, and they were recently demonstrated to play a role in combating the development of Parkinson's in animal models. A paper describing how they work is published in the journal Antioxidants & Redox Signaling.

According to scientists at the Medical College of Georgia, the new antioxidants target the master regulator gene Nrf2, which plays a role in controlling oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain.

“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,” PsychCentral quotes neuroscientist Dr. Bobby Thomas as saying.