(the calcium channel blocker discussed in this abstract is Isradipine.)

Parkinson's disease... is caused by the death of a specific population of dopamine-producing neurons in a specific brain area called the substantia nigra. The specificity of the problem has always been a bit bewildering... A paper published earlier this week in Nature provides a possible answer: the neurons burn a lot of energy in order to produce a rhythmic activity, and end up under severe metabolic stress.

The involvement of basic metabolism isn't unexpected. A number of studies have suggested a major feature of Parkinson's is oxidative stress caused by problems with mitochondria, which oxidize glucose to produce energy..

...To do the monitoring.. the researchers could spy on the oxidation state of the neurons simply by using a microscope to see whether they were fluorescing.

What they saw was both a generally elevated level of oxidative stress... This reinforces the link between Parkinson's and mitochondrial function.

The authors also provide a potential explanation for the enhanced oxidative stress. These neurons produce a regular rhythm...firing an electrical pulse every 400 milliseconds or so. These pulses involve an ATP-powered change in calcium levels (ATP is produced by the mitochondria), which may be what stresses the mitochondria out. So, the authors added a drug that blocks the calcium changes, and found that it reduced oxidative stress, even in the Parkinson's mice.

The best news here is that the drug is already known to be well tolerated in humans...

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