...The new compounds were developed by Richard B. Silverman, the John Evans Professor of Chemistry at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and inventor of the molecule that became the well-known drug Lyrica, and D. James Surmeier, chair of physiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.

The compounds shut out a fairly rare membrane protein, so that calcium cannot enter into dopamine neurons. A different study by Surmeier indicated that premature aging and death could result from calcium entry through this protein, which strains dopamine neurons. The exact protein involved, the Vav1.3 channel, was also recognized through his research....

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/251958.php
(this information agrees somewhat with my theory that PD is somehow directly related to altered calcium metabolism/calcium function. )