MS Medicine Copaxone May Have Benefits in Parkinson’s Disease, Mouse Study Finds
Treatment with Copaxone after the onset of the disease reversed gait (walking) and grip impairments in MPTP-treated mice.
Investigators believe this was due to the remarkable recovery in the levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), one of the enzymes that is responsible for the production of dopamine in the striatum (a region of the brain involved in motor coordination) following treatment with Copaxone.
In addition, researchers found the number of TH-positive neurons in the substantia nigra increased slightly, albeit non-significantly, in animals treated with Copaxone, compared to those treated with a vehicle solution (control) after MPTP induction.
This was also associated with an increase in the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — a protein whose main function is to protect dopaminergic neurons — and a decrease in the levels of IBA1, a marker of glial cells’ over-activation caused by brain inflammation. Glial cells, also known as microglia, are nerve cells that support and protect neurons.