Prof Finkelstein presented new data on the drug known as PBT434 at the 17th annual congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders in Sydney this week.


He said in animal models the synthetic compound had prevented cell death by stopping destructive interactions in the brain between dopamine and iron. It also prevented the accumulation of alpha synuclein protein.

"It has been designed to bind to iron, stopping it from interacting with the dopamine, which causes oxidative stress, and to stop alpha synuclein aggregating," Prof Finkelstein said.

He said the next step would be to trial the drug in humans, which was expected to take place within two years...

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