China’s Parkinson’s Disease Treatment Breakthrough

Chinese scientists have discovered the core pathological brain network for Parkinson’s disease, and direct medical intervention targeting this network in clinical studies has achieved positive outcomes.

The findings were made by a research team from Changping Laboratory in Beijing. The research study of more than 800 Parkinson’s patients had revealed that the disease affects a brain network known as the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) and this network links key brain regions involved in movement control which are commonly targeted in Parkinson’s treatments for motor dysfunction.

What distinguishes this study was the discovery that the connections between SCAN and these regions are abnormally strengthened in patients with Parkinson’s disease.