Nov., 01, 2012 College News - Balaraman Kalyanaraman, PhD, Harry R. & Angeline E. Quadracci Professor in Parkinson’s Research and Chairman of Biophysics, and his research team were co-authors on a study, Anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of an orally active apocynin derivative in pre-clinical models of Parkinson’s disease, published in the online version of the Journal of Neuroinflammation.
Parkinson’s disease is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor impairment and tremors resulting from damage to, and eventual death of, dopamine-secreting nerve cells. It affects several million people worldwide, but there are no neuroprotective agents that can slow the disease progression.
For this study, Dr. Kalyanaraman and his team evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of a synthetic analog of a naturally-occurring compound called apocynin on Parkinson’s disease in mouse models. The animals given diapocynin had lower levels of inflammation markers, inflammatory enzymes and enhanced motor function. These findings could lead to a better understanding of how to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Other authors on this paper from the MCW Department of Biophysics include Brian P. Dranka, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow; and Joy Joseph, PhD, Associate Professor. They collaborated with Anumantha Kanthasamy, PhD, Chair of Biomedical Sciences and Distinguished Professor / W.E. Lloyd Endowed Chair in Neurotoxicology at Iowa State University.