Study: Parkinson's Disease May Begin Before Birth
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A new study suggests Parkinson's disease may begin before birth.
The research by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center focused on young-onset Parkinson's – when the neurodegenerative disorder develops before the age of 50.
It found people with young-onset Parkinson's may have been born with disordered brain cells that went undetected for decades.
The study, which derived neurons from stem cells of people with young-onset Parkinson's, found two key abnormalities in the brain cells.
The researchers tested drugs to try to reverse the abnormalities.
One of them, an FDA-approved drug for treating pre-cancerous skin lesions, reduced levels of one of the abnormalities in the lab-derived neurons.
"This exciting new research provides hope that one day we may be able to detect and take early action to prevent this disease in at-risk individuals," said one of the study's co-authors.