A research team has revealed that a molecule in the brain -- ophthalmic acid -- unexpectedly acts like a neurotransmitter similar to dopamine in regulating motor function, offering a new therapeutic target for Parkinson's and other movement diseases.
Parkinson's disease, a debilitating nervous system disorder, is treated with medications that sometimes cause impaired decision-making and poor impulse control. Now, researchers have identified a structure in the brain called the external globus pallidus which may be responsible for this side effect, paving the way for new treatments.
A research team has developed an analysis pipeline to identify unexploited genes for a given disease against five databases that provide gene-disease associations. They used their pipeline to study oxidative stress and its related disease, Parkinson's disease, as a case study.
A finding by neuroscientists could open doors to new treatments for a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders attributed to dysfunctions in specific dopamine pathways.