PDS awards grant for dopamine nerve cell research

The Parkinson's Disease Society (PDS) has awarded a £35,000 grant to an Oxford professor, for to study the development of dopamine nerve cells.

Parkinson's is caused by the loss of such cells in the parts of the brain that control movement, according to the PDS.

By using embryonic stem cells, which have the ability to turn themselves into any type of cell in the body, professor Matthew Wood and his team hope to find a better way to develop dopamine nerve cells.

These can then be used to find out what happens when existing dopamine cells die in people with Parkinson's, the PDS claims.

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research at the PDS, said: "This is the kind of high-risk, high-reward research that we are keen to fund through our innovation grants.

"[Professor Wood's research] will move us closer to developing new and better treatments."

According to the PDS, 1 in 500 people in the UK have Parkinson's disease, with 10,000 new cases being diagnosed each year.

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