Study Finds Brain Scan Clues Behind Parkinson’s Drug Failures

Simon Fraser University researchers are using an advanced brain imaging method called MEG to understand why Parkinson’s drug levodopa doesn’t work equally well for everyone.

By mapping patients’ brain signals before and after taking the drug, they discovered that it sometimes activates the wrong brain regions, reducing its helpful effects.

This breakthrough could pave the way for personalised treatment strategies, ensuring patients receive medications that target the right areas of their brain more effectively.

The new study by SFU researchers, published in the journal Movement Disorders, explores why levodopa, the main drug used in dopamine replacement therapy, is sometimes less effective for some patients.

Levodopa is typically prescribed to reduce movement-related symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease. While it helps most patients, the effectiveness varies among individuals.

To investigate this, SFU collaborated with researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden and used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to study how the drug affects brain signals. 

“Parkinson’s is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide and is increasing rapidly in incidence,” said Alex Wiesman, assistant professor in biomedical physiology and kinesiology at SFU.

“Treating this disease effectively is becoming more important. If clinicians can see how levodopa activates certain brain areas in each patient, it can help create a more personalised approach to treatment,” Wiesman added.

The study involved 17 Parkinson’s patients. Researchers mapped their brain signals before and after medication to identify how and where levodopa impacted brain activity.

MEG is a non-invasive technology that measures magnetic fields generated by brain electrical signals. It allows clinicians to study various brain conditions including epilepsy, brain injuries, mental illness, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Using this rare imaging tech, Wiesman and his team developed a new data analysis method to detect off-target drug effects in real time.

“Sometimes, the drug activates brain regions we don’t want it to. While it still helps the patient, the benefit is not as strong when these off-target effects occur,” said Wiesman.

Parkinson’s disease causes progressive damage to the dopamine-producing neurons in a brain region called the substantia nigra. Symptoms include tremors, stiffness, slow movement, and balance problems.

Wiesman hopes this new imaging approach will help tailor drug treatments more precisely. The method could also be used to analyse how other brain-affecting drugs work in individuals.

(With inputs from ANI)

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