The Cure Parkinson's Trust has been funding the work of Dr Jonathon Brotchie and we are pleased to report the following developments:
The Programme in Translational Research was initiated in 2006 and is milestone-driven and aims to deliver a range of treatments and cures over a five year period. This project will pursue an ambitious and vigorous course of work to establish effective treatments which already have demonstrated efficacy in either models or Parkinson's patients. The product of this work will tackle both the core Parkinson's symptoms and also the side effects of taking existing medications. Dr Brotchie has been carrying out the work on Cogane.
The programme is envisaged to have, at any one time, at least eight potential treatments or cures in development.
Since December 1st 2007,
1) Seven treatments have entered clinical trial. An eighth, is planned and it is hoped to initiate recruitment in 2009.
2) Nineteen new drugs have been assessed in pre clinical studies
3) 53 new drugs have been synthesized by medicinal chemistry activity. To date, 35 have been screened to characterise their pharmacology.