As researchers search for a therapy to slow or stop Parkinson's disease (PD) progression, alpha-synuclein has emerged as a leading target. This protein clumps in the brains of nearly everyone with Parkinson's and it's the primary component of Lewy bodies, the pathological hallmark of PD. At the current time, five therapies representing varied approaches against alpha-synuclein are in different stages of clinical trial testing.

In an interview for Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Brian Fiske, PhD, senior vice president of research programs at MJFF, discussed the field's focus on alpha-synuclein. "The real unmet medical need [in Parkinson's] is a treatment that can target the underlying disease mechanism and can slow and ultimately halt the disease process. That's where the excitement around targets like a-synuclein comes from."

Read the full article to learn more about alpha-synuclein and the therapies in testing.

Learn more about how MJFF is prioritizing a-synuclein scientific discovery.