Parkinson’s Disease May Soon Be Controllable

Neurology Professor Lee Phil-hyu from the Yonsei College of Medicine has discovered a potential method for controlling Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that affects the motor system, and one of its causes is a genetic mutation involving the protein alpha-synuclein. Using multipotent stem cells, Professor Lee and his team devised a method for suppressing the movement and intercellular transfer of alpha-synuclein in brain cells. The findings were published in February in the online edition of Cell Reports. Currently, no medications exist to delay the progress of Parkinson’s Disease; the research thus paves the way for developing an effective drug for controlling the disease.