In a recent report published in Neurotherapeutics, University of California, Los Angeles researchers said they developed a compound that helped assist with coordination and balance in mice with Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers tested the drug, CLR01, and results showed that the toxic brain protein found in Parkinson’s cases was reduced when the drug was administered, a UCLA Health release said.
“CLR01 previously showed a strong therapeutic effect in a zebrafish model of Parkinson’s," UCLA Health said in the release. “This study is the first to demonstrate CLR01’s effectiveness in a mammal, one of the last important steps before human clinical trials.”
Next, authors of the study, Gal Bitan, Dr. Marie-Francoise Chesselet, and Franziska Richter, will begin to test the compound on human patients.
“The researchers are now working on optimizing the blood-brain barrier penetration of CLR01 and measuring all the pharmacological features necessary for applying to the Food and Drug Administration to begin the first human, clinical trials,” the release said.
