"The Parkinson's disease brain is damaged before symptoms appear. Specifically, we have detected up to 50% neuronal death and a decrease in dopamine in the brain". This was stated by Dr. Carmen Cavada, professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid and president of the Spanish Society of Neuroscience, during a scientific session held at the research center Applied Medicine (CIMA ) of the University of Navarra.

It is a group of work formed by international experts in this field, such as Professor Oleh Hornykiewicz, researcher of high school of Neurosciences in Vienna (Austria), who described the dopamine deficit in Parkinson's disease. Also participating are scientists from the CIMAhigh school The University of Navarra Clinic, the Autonomous University of Madrid, the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Center of Barcelona (IDIBAPS-CSIC) and the University of La Laguna in Tenerife are also participating.

Today Parkinson's disease is diagnosed when the brain has already lost 60-70% of its dopamine. In this context, the group of experts has launched a project multidisciplinary to study the brain from a biochemical and anatomical point of view. "The work is coordinated by Dr. José A. Obeso, director of the laboratory of Movement Disorders of the CIMAwhose team has developed an experimental model to analyze the progression of the disease from the initial stage. If we know what happens in the brain before symptoms appear, we will be able to mitigate and, above all, prevent the disease from progressing," explains Dr. Cavada.

Multifactorial origin

According to Dr. Manuel Rodríguez Díaz, researcher of the University of La Laguna, "it seems that Parkinson's disease is caused by multiple factors, but we do not know the importance of each one. The goal is to look for a solution to treat the disease at its onset. This pathology must be approached jointly by basic and clinical specialists to achieve an accurate diagnosis".

One of the topics of discussion at group focuses on how the brain compensates for the deficit of dopaminergic neurons. "We must delve deeper into this line to define whether the neurons themselves that are still alive increase dopamine synthesis, or other nearby neurons are involved."

The researchers affirmed that the future of research in this field is very promising. "Although it involves an effort, these multidisciplinary meetings must be encouraged, since everything that is advanced in Parkinson's disease will have repercussions in other neurodegenerative pathologies. To do this, it is necessary to have the means, but the budget cuts at research and development that are looming are seriously jeopardizing the positive evolution that Spain has been making in recent years".