Potential Drug Compound Attacks Parkinson's On Two Fronts
 

June 20, 2013 — Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a compound that could counter Parkinson's disease in two ways at once.

In a new study published recently online ahead of print by the journal ACS Chemical Biology, the scientists describe a "dual inhibitor" -- two compounds in a single molecule -- that attacks a pair of proteins closely associated with development of Parkinson's disease.

"In general, these two enzymes amplify the effect of each other," ..."What we were looking for is a high-affinity, high-selectivity treatment that is additive or synergistic in its effect -- a one-two punch."
That could be what they found.

This new dual inhibitor attacks two enzymes -- the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) and the c-jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) -- pronounced "junk." Genetic testing of several thousand Parkinson's patients has shown that mutations in the LRRK2 gene increase the risk of Parkinson's disease, while JNK has been shown to play an important role in neuron (nerve cell) survival in a range of neurodegenerative diseases...

Now the team's new dual inhibitor will need to be optimized for potency, high selectivity (which reduces off-target side effects) and bioavailability so it can be tested in animal models of Parkinson's disease.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0620111138.htm

This was very interesting. I wonder if the compound would only be effective on those with mutations in LRRK2.