Farnesol is a compound found in herbs, berries, and other fruits . Its use in mice has shown its effectiveness in preventing the death of neurons that produce dopamine in the brain , deactivating PARIS, a key protein involved in the development of Parkinson’s.
When the neurons that produce dopamine are lost, movement and cognition are impaired , leading to such characteristic Parkinson’s symptoms as tremors, muscle stiffness, confusion, and dementia. The researchers note that farnesol’s ability to block PARIS could lead to new disease interventions that directly target this protein.
” Our experiments showed that farnesol significantly prevented the loss of dopamine neurons and reversed behavioral deficits in mice , indicating its promise as a potential drug treatment to prevent Parkinson’s disease,” says Ted Dawson, director of the Johns Hopkins Institute. of Cell Engineering, professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and leader of the study just published in Science Translational Medicine .
When a person has Parkinson’s, the accumulation of the PARIS protein in their brain slows down the production of the protective protein PGC-1alpha. This protein protects brain cells from harmful reactive oxygen molecules that build up in the brain. Without PGC-1alpha, dopaminergic neurons (which make dopamine) die, leading to the cognitive and physical changes associated with Parkinson’s disease.
To see if farnesol could protect the brain from the effects of PARIS accumulation, the researchers fed mice a diet supplemented with farnesol for a week. Another group of rodents was given a normal diet, without farnesol. Later, all the mice were given preformed fibrils of the protein alpha-synuclein, which is associated with the effects of Parkinson’s in the brain.
What the scientists saw is that the rodents that had followed the farnesol diet performed better on a strength and coordination test designed to detect progression of Parkinson’s symptoms than the rodents that had not been given this compound. When they studied the brain tissue of the animals, they found that those who had consumed farnesol had twice as many healthy dopaminergic neurons as the mice that had not taken it. Those fed farnesol had about 55% more of the protective protein PGC-1alpha in their brains than the others.
In chemical experiments, the researchers confirmed that farnesol binds to PARIS, changing the shape of the protein so that it cannot interfere with the production of PGC-1alpha, the protective protein.
Although farnesol occurs naturally as we have discussed, synthetic versions are sold commercially. It is also not known exactly how much farnesol we obtain through the food we eat or what the safe doses for humans would be. This can only be known when the relevant clinical trials are conducted.
Although more research is needed , Dawson and his team hope that farnesol could one day be used to create treatments that prevent or reverse the brain damage caused by Parkinson’s disease.
