Parkinson’s is a chronic, progressive and debilitating condition caused by a failure to produce adequate levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the motor regions of the CNS, responsible for controlling movement.
Common symptoms include tremors in the hands, arms, legs and jaw, rigidity in the limbs and trunk, slowness of movement (bradykinesia) and impaired balance and co-ordination.
Over 40,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the USA alone.
Current therapy relies primarily on raising the levels of dopamine in the brain by administering exogenous L-dopa, which is converted by the body to dopamine. However, prolonged therapy with L-dopa is linked to side effects such as nausea and involuntary movements (dyskinesia).
In addition, patients often suffer unpredictable periods of “on-off” syndrome, when the drug fails to treat the disease symptoms, and increased doses are required as the disease progresses.
