Parkinson's disease progressively robs patients of their physical abilities. So far, we haven't found a way to stop brain cells from dying. Up until now. Researchers are making progress in the UK and Norway and have found a drug that could keep brain cells functioning normally. The drug has been used to treat liver disease for years.

Led by Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuorscience's Dr. Oliver Bandmann, they discovered the drug ursodeoxycholic acide (UDA) helps heal faulty mitochondria. The drug is used to treat gallstones and some forms of cirrhosis and was found to be the most effective among 2,000 compounds tested on mitochondria skin cells from Parkinson's patients.

Researchers will be able to move to clinical trials with UDA to determine the drug's safety and optimum dosage in Parkinson's patients. We're one step closer, folks. One step closer. [The University of Sheffield via ScienceDaily]