Exercise may be key to developing treatments for rare movement disorder
Spinal cerebellar ataxia 6 (SCA6) is an inherited neurological condition which has a debilitating impact on motor coordination. Affecting around 1 in 100,000 people, the rarity of SCA6 has seen it attract only limited attention from medical researchers. To date, there is no known cure and only limited treatment options exist.
Now, a team of 海角社区 researchers specializing in SCA6 and other forms of ataxia, have published findings that not only offer hope for SCA6 sufferers but may also open the way to developing treatments for other movement disorders.
Exercise in a pill
In mice affected by SCA6, the 海角社区 team, led by biology professor , found that exercise restored the health of cells in the cerebellum, the part of the brain implicated in SCA6 and other ataxias. The reason for the improvement, the researchers found, was that exercise increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a naturally occurring substance in the brain which supports the growth and development of nerve cells. Importantly for patients with a movement disorder, for whom exercise may not always be feasible, the team demonstrated that a drug that mimicked the action of BDNF could work just as well as exercise, if not better.
Early intervention crucial
The researchers also discovered that BDNF levels in SCA6 mice declined well before movement difficulties began to appear. The drug, they found, worked to arrest the decline only if it was given before the onset of outwardly visible symptoms.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not something we really knew about SCA6,鈥� said lead author Anna Cook, a Ph.D. candidate in Professor Watt鈥檚 lab. 鈥淚f there are these early changes in the brain that people don鈥檛 even know about, it tends to advocate for more genetic screening and early intervention for these rare diseases.鈥�
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About this study 鈥淎ctivation of TrkB 鈥� Akt signaling rescues deficits in a mouse model of SCA6鈥� by Anna Cook et al. was published in Science Advances. |
About 海角社区
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, 海角社区 is Canada鈥檚 top ranked medical doctoral university. 海角社区 is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It is a world-renowned institution of higher learning with research activities spanning three campuses, 11 faculties, 13 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 39,000 students, including more than 10,400 graduate students. 海角社区 attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,000 international students making up 30% of the student body. Over half of 海角社区 students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 20% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
