What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s is a progressive condition that is diagnosed based on the characteristic motor symptoms that include tremors, rigidity, and postural instability. However, many other systems in the body are often affected by this condition, including memory, sleep, and even sense of smell and digestive function.

Up to 10 million people live with Parkinson’s worldwide, around 150,000 – in the UK alone, and over 1 million – in the US. It is the second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s, and is a neurological condition with the fastest growth in prevalence worldwide. All backgrounds and cultures are affected, and men are slightly more likely to develop Parkinson’s than women.

The condition mainly affects individuals over 60, but young onset Parkinson’s can start as early as in one’s 20s. The majority of diagnosed cases are idiopathic rather than inherited – this means that the exact cause is not fully understood and it is likely that multiple causes such as environment, lifestyle, and genetic predispositions contributed. Diagnosis is currently based on the clinical assessment of symptoms, and early symptoms can sometimes present for years before the condition is identified.

How is Parkinson’s Disease treated?

Current standard of care medications include drugs that help replace a chemical in the brain called dopamine, which is normally produced by the cells called dopaminergic neurones. In Parkinson’s, these cells become progressively damaged and dopamine levels decrease, and so the treatment helps alleviate motor symptoms and fluctuations in mobility. 

Other more invasive option to tackle motor symptoms is deep brain stimulation, but not everyone is a good candidate for this approach.

Additional drug treatments are often prescribed for people with Parkinson’s to alleviate depression and other psychiatric conditions, to improve digestive function, and to aid sleep.

What is the unmet clinical need for Parkinson’s Disease?

Even though existing treatments can improve quality of life and prolong lifespan of people with Parkinson’s, many challenges remain. For example, none of the approved drugs or other treatment approaches tackle the condition at its core, so even though fewer symptoms are seen, the cell damage keeps occurring. Non-motor symptoms have no specific treatments in Parkinson’s, and patients often end up taking a number of drugs instead of one. Furthermore, many current drugs lead to serious side effects such as involuntary movements, which limit their benefits. 

Deep brain stimulation has similar limitations – it often stops being effective over time, can cause life-limiting side effects, and does not address non-motor symptoms.Therefore, there is an urgent need for new treatments that can stop Parkinson’s from getting worse from the point of diagnosis, tackling more than its late-stage manifestations.

What is Cellestial Health offering?

At Cellestial, we discovered that brain cells called astrocytes also suffer from dysfunction in Parkinson’s, and that restoring their function can stop other cells like dopaminergic neurones from getting progressively worse. 

With safe, non-invasive drug treatments that support astrocytes, we aim to stabilise the networks in the brain so that motor as well as non-motor symptoms do not progress, and people with Parkinson’s can live fuller lives for longer, taking fewer additional drugs and minimising the risk of side effects.

Cellestial are at the research and development stage, meaning that we are still improving and testing our drug to offer the best treatment in the coming years. We do not sell to patients. Stay in touch with our developments by checking out our news and contacting us.

Where can I learn more?

Here are some helpful resources about Parkinson’s from charities around the world

*these resources are not directly affiliated with Cellestial and are provided for information and reference only