Medical Breakthrough May Benefit Patients with Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s’ and Parkinson’s’ Disease

Scientists from the University of Manchester have made a significant breakthrough when it comes to treating diseases such as Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s’ and Parkinson’s’ disease.

Based on the success of finding a drug [UPF 648] that can inhibit the enzyme KMO, and work as a treatment for brain disorders, Professor Nigel Scrutton also spoke of the drug’s limitations, in saying, “Our research detailing the molecular structure of the enzyme now enables a search for new KMO inhibitors that are able to cross the blood-brain barrier. This provides real hope for developing drug therapies to target neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.”

This progress has been made possible because of the research that has gone into finding the crystal structure of KMO – taking almost five years in all to do so. What is also clear from studies with animal models of neurodegenerative disease is that the use of binding drugs can works as effective treatment for these diorders.

Yet even though the crystal structure has been understood clearly, scientists have noted that UPF 648, while being able to inhibit the KMO enzyme, is unable to pass into the brain.

Hence, despite the fact that this breakthrough holds promise for patients with brain disorders, scientists are still looking for compounds that will not only bind themselves with the enzyme but also be able to cross the blood-brain barrier.

One thing’s for certain: the success with UPF 648 indicates that there is real hope when it comes to finding drug-based treatments of these brain disorders.