Parkinson's disease

We are able to control muscle movement, in part, via the aid of a brain chemical called dopamine. One of the hallmarks of the movement disorder, Parkinson’s disease (PD), is the death of dopamine-producing nerve cells. The onset of this syndrome is insidious and include numerous motor (tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability) and non-motor symptoms (e.g., sleep disorder). It is one of the most common neurological illnesses (as many as 1.5 million patients in the USA alone; mean age of onset = 65 years old) and treatment costs exceed $14.4 billion per year. According to the latest report from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, nearly 40 medicines are currently being developed to treat and diagnose PD and related conditions. The investigational disease-modifying therapies include medicines focused on protecting brain cells in an attempt to halt disease progression or therapies aimed at generating new cells or repair damaged cells. The full 2014 report on the PD pipeline can be found here.