The behavior of immune cells in the blood is so different in patients with Parkinson’s disease that it advocate for a new type of supplementary medicine, which can regulate the immune system and thus inhibit the deterioration of the brain.

These are the perspectives in a new study which researchers from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University, Denmark, are behind. The article has just been published in the scientific journal Movement Disorders.

«The research project confirms a growing theory that Parkinson’s disease is not only a brain disease, but is also connected with the immune system. Both in the brain and the rest of the body,» says Marina Romero-Ramos, associate professor of neuroscience, who leads the team behind the study.

PhD Sara Konstantin Nissen, who is the study’s first author adds:

«This knowledge may in the long term lead to the development of supplementary immune-regulating treatment being combined with the current medical treatment with the drug L-dopa, which only has an effect on the brain and the symptoms. We believe such an additional drug might help to slow down the progression of the disease,» says PhD Sara Konstantin Nissen.

Parkinson’s disease is characterised by the slow degeneration of the neurons in brain due to the abnormal accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein. This leads to the patients shaking and then to the slow, stiff movements which many people associate with the disease.

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Materials provided by Aarhus University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.