Modern Lifestyle Raises Parkinson’s Risk: Neurologist Issues Warning

MADRID (EUROPA PRESS) – José A. Obeso, a distinguished academic in Neurology at the Royal National Academy of Medicine of Spain (RANME), has expressed concern over the growing trend of adopting a lifestyle he describes as pro-Parkinsonian. This is due to increasingly common multitasking habits, coupled with stress and poor lifestyle choices.

Obeso shared these insights in light of the upcoming World Parkinson’s Day on Friday, April 11. The neurologist stresses the importance of managing all cardiovascular risk factors, maintaining a healthy weight, and particularly emphasizes the need for “extensive physical and cognitive exercise.”

While the exact causes of Parkinson’s disease remain elusive, it is believed to be a mix of genetic factors, environmental influences, aging, and oxidative damage. “Aging is undoubtedly the most significant factor, as the condition is directly related to older age,” the expert states.

He notes that there are approximately 300,000 patients with Parkinson’s in Spain. Early onset cases are becoming more frequently recognized, which may be challenging to ascertain because “the socio-health level has significantly improved, along with diagnostic methods and understanding of the disease,” he claims.

Obeso further explains that the most common symptoms include tremors, stiffness, and slow movement. This is because “the loss of dopamine, a key neurotransmitter in the brain, disrupts the neuronal activity that supports automatic mobility.”

Moreover, “depression is also very common in Parkinson’s disease, with depressive symptoms seen in up to 30 percent of patients in the pre-diagnostic phase,” reveals this Professor of Neurology at CEU San Pablo University, Madrid.

RECENT ADVANCES IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE TREATMENT

In 2018, Professor Obeso, along with Dr. Carmen Gasca, Dr. José Ángel Pineda-Pardo, and other researchers from HM CINAC, made significant progress in using low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) with microbubbles (guided by magnetic resonance imaging) to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier. This technique allows for the introduction of therapeutic agents to combat the origins of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease.

This minimally invasive method effectively facilitates the delivery of potentially neuro-restorative molecules to brain regions vulnerable to neurodegeneration.

“This opening of the blood-brain barrier allows molecules, which otherwise cannot access the brain, to reach therapeutic concentrations precisely at the regions where neurodegenerative processes are actively occurring,” explains the academic.

There are two main groups of therapies that can currently be implemented: gene therapy and immunotherapy. Within gene therapy, there are two options.

“Firstly, a harmless viral vector can be administered to express a protein of therapeutic relevance. This approach can quickly alleviate classic motor symptoms, such as reducing or eliminating tremors and stiffness, similar to what is achieved with functional neurosurgery and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatments,” Obeso states.

“Secondly, a viral vector delivering a neuronal restorative agent, such as neurotrophic factors or anti-synuclein antibodies, can be used,” he describes.

“This latter option could have a more substantial long-term impact on the disease’s progression. It is important to note that, in humans, these options are not yet under study. Our work has been conducted in experimental primate models with dopaminergic deficits,” clarified Javier Blesa, another researcher at HM CINAC.

Initial studies on patient viability and safety have been conducted at the center, and they are waiting for therapeutic agents that can be administered. “Meanwhile, we continue to advance in experimental models to optimize the methodology, which is still under development. Currently, no other team in Spain is working on this,” concludes Blesa.