Protein change in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It starts slowly, but continues to get worse with time. At this time, there is no cure. Drugs can help control the symptoms, such as muscle tremors or stiffness. Over time, these drugs may stop working. They can also cause side effects. Uncontrolled muscle movement is a common side effect in some people. The medical word for this is dyskinesia. Some people with Parkinson’s disease have a specific change in a brain protein. This protein helps nerves regrow. Patients with the protein change often suffer dyskinesia sooner than other patients. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) helps improve muscle symptoms. It also decreases this common drug side effect. But, we are not sure how DBS works. Researchers in this study think DBS works by increasing the amount of this brain protein. They will look for patients with Parkinson’s that have the specific protein change. Then they will check if those patients need DBS. They hope to find a link between the protein change and needing DBS. This might help doctors to know which patients will benefit most from DBS.