A potential Parkinson’s disease treatment developed by Phytopharm, the Cambridge company that uses medicinal plants to develop drugs, has attracted a $1.16m grant from Hollywood A-lister, Michael J Fox to further research into the firm’s medicine, Cogane.
Fox, who starred in the iconic ‘Back to the Future’ movies, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991.
In pre-clinical models, Phytopharm’s treatment has been found to reverse changes in the area of the brain involved in Parkinson’s by inducing the body’s own production of proteins known as neurotrophic factors, in particular GDNF.
GDNF has been shown to be particularly effective in re-growing damaged nerves, but as it is a protein can’t be administered orally and struggles to cross the blood-brain barrier.
GDNF can work only when injected into or when produced inside the brain, and direct injection of GDNF into the area of the brain involved in Parkinson’s has shown substantial beneficial effects in small-scale clinical studies but requires highly complex and difficult surgical procedures.
Cogane, which can be taken orally, readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and stimulates the release of GDNF in the brain.
The award comes from The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) set up in 2000 by Fox, who famously hid his suffering from the debilitative disease for a number of years whilst continuing to act on television.
“MJFF is extremely eager to see the development of an orally bioavailable product that can stimulate production of GDNF or other neurotrophic factors in the brain,” said CEO of the foundation, Katie Hood.
“The development of novel alternative delivery mechanisms for neurotrophic factors is critical in realising the potential of these proteins to restore motor function and increase quality of life for Parkinson’s disease patients.”
Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder caused by altered signalling of an area of the brain, and resulting in muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement and, in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement.
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A potential Parkinson’s disease treatment developed by Phytopharm, the Cambridge company that uses medicinal plants to develop drugs, has attracted a $1.16m grant from Hollywood A-lister, Michael J Fox to further research into the firm’s medicine, Cogane.
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