"This is exactly
the sort of opportunity we must explore"
Dr Kieran
Breen, Director of Research and Development
The discovery that started it all
In an exciting research project, Professor Peter Jenner and his
team at King's College London have discovered a naturally occuring
protective protein in dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain.
Osteopontin can interfere with the destruction of nerve cells that
occurs in Parkinson's disease.
This finding may mean that we can one day treat the causes of
Parkinson's rather than just the symptoms.
A natural way to fight Parkinson's
Professor Jenner's exciting research may be able to move us
closer to an understanding of Parkinson's, but we don't yet know
whether a deficiency of osteopontin plays a major role in
Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative conditions.
The great thing about osteopontin is that it empowers the
brain to heal itself, avoiding the debilitating side effects that
come from synthetic drugs.
Ultimately with a better understanding of osteopontin, we may be
able to intervene at an earlier stage of nerve cell death and stop
people developing Parkinson's.
This is just one of the many long-term research projects that we
are funding. And that's why we launched the next
step - an initiative to support our ongoing research
programme.
By taking the
next step with us, you can help us to be
prepared for the exciting opportunities ahead.
Your commitment to a monthly gift of £5 or an annual donation of
£60 will give us the financial security to channel even more funds
into research, and help make a vital difference to the lives of
people with Parkinson's.
Please help us
take the next step by completing
the Direct Debit
form or by calling
01753 688687
 For over 40 years we have been
driving research forward
Since the charity was founded in 1969, we have spent around
£45million on research. With your help we want to increase this to
ensure that we take advantage of every opportunity.
Find out more about our current
research
Read more about our research
achievements
We are a membership organisation but supports all people with
Parkinson's.
You can find out more about our membership scheme and
benefits in our Join Us
pages
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