Mexican researchers hail new treatment for Parkinson's disease

Medical researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) announced Wednesday that a new treatment for Parkinson's disease could lead patients to make an 85-percent recovery.

In a press release, UNAM researcher Patricia Vergara Aragon explained that tests on rats showed that titanium dioxide microplants bearing dopamine allowed the animals to recover motor function.

Parkinson's disease primarily affects people over 50 and causes gradual deterioration of neurons in the brain responsible for creating dopamine.

Dopamine acts as a chemical messenger that links neurons across the brain and is responsible for controlling the movement of the human body.

In collaboration with researchers from the Center of Applied Investigation and Advanced Technology of the National Polytechnic Institute, the UNAM team said they succeeded in placing dopamine molecules within a microreservoir in a ceramic base, using the sol-gel technique.

Once applied to the patient, this technique allows the neurotransmitters affected by Parkinson's to remain stable for a long time, they added.