Every hero needs a sidekick: Batman and Robin, the Lone Ranger and Tonto, Ronald McDonald and Grimace. And, in Parkinson's world, if Levodopa is the crime-fighting vigilante, then enzyme blockers (or inhibitors) are keeping the seats warm in the Batmobile. To discuss the vital role that this group of drugs play, the Movers and Shakers are joined in the pub by Professor Peter Jenner, a pharmacological expert, and Lynn Guldin, a new PhD student looking into Parkinson's treatments.
By Podot
Each week Rory Cellan-Jones guides us between the laughs and moans in the pub. To read Rory's summary of this week's episode click here.
UPDATE October 2024: Read the following article on Rory's Substack for the latest on the Exenatide trial.
Guest Biographies
Professor Peter Jenner
Professor Peter Jenner is a specialist in preclinical aspects of neurodegenerative diseases, notably Parkinson’s disease. He has spent the major part of his career at King’s College London where he was Head of Pharmacology for 14 years before returning to his research roots and subsequently becoming Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology. Peter has expertise in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics but neuropharmacology based on functional models of neurodegenerative diseases has formed the major focus of his work. Peter holds a BPharm, PhD and DSc degree from the University of London. He has published well over 1000 articles with more than 700 peer reviewed papers. He is a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the British Pharmacological Society, the Royal Society of Medicine and of King’s College London. Peter was recently honoured with a Doctor Honoris Causa degree from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest and made an Honorary Fellow of The British Pharmacological Society for his contribution to research in to movement disorders.
Peter has worked closely with the pharmaceutical industry for many years and acts as an adviser and consultant to both major pharma and biotech companies. He has a wide knowledge of the drug discovery and drug development process and has been involved from molecule synthesis through to drug registration for use in man. Peter was the Founder, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Proximagen, a biotech focussed on the treatment and cure of neurodegenerative diseases that was listed on AIMs and subsequently purchased by a US based healthcare company. He is a regular speaker at international meetings and also takes time to speak at Parkinson’s disease patient-carer groups across the UK.
Read the following note from Professor Jenner here.
Lynn Guldin
My name is Lynn, and as of autumn 2024, I am 22 years old and will soon begin my PhD in Parkinson’s Disease research. Throughout my widespread interests, I have always been keen on exploring – and now, shaping for myself – matters of causality in both arts and science: how music and text together create atmosphere and feeling, how combinations of words alter tone and convey perspective in writing, and how our brains underlie – or hinder – our thinking, feeling, and moving. I largely grew up in the USA with German heritage, attending an international school there. Between a Bachelor’s degree (King’s College London) and a Master’s Degree (University of Oxford), a research assistantship spent working on potential novel therapies for stroke-related movement disorders triggered my interest in all things movement circuitry. Fittingly, I will explore in my PhD how stimulating the spinal cord to send electrical signals up to the brain might improve gait symptoms for Parkinson’s Disease patients at Charité University Medicine in Berlin. In my other life, I am an avid opera fan and writer, typing out late-night reviews and conducting interviews for the German-language opera magazine DAS OPERNMAGAZIN, and working on my debut novel.
And here is a photograph of Lynn's dopamine necklace as referenced in the episode...
Exenatide PD3 Trial
Cure Parkinson’s is delighted to be supporting two sub-studies within the Bydureon (exenatide) phase 3 trial which is recruiting from six sites in the UK.
This phase 3 clinical trial is testing the efficacy of exenatide in a large cohort of people with Parkinson’s and is the next stage in a programme of trials and research studies to determine whether this GLP-1 diabetes drug is a beneficial treatment.
This two year study involves 200 people with Parkinson’s taking place in six sites around the UK. Source: Cure Parkinson's
Read about Alison Elkin's frustrating experience with the trial on Rory's Substack page here.
Dr Tom Foltynie, Principal Investigator of the Exenatide trial, provided this statement:
“I fully understand the frustration experienced by Alison in her urgent need to hear news of the results of the Exenatide PD3 trial. We owe her a debt of gratitude alongside all the other participants in the trial. There is absolutely no doubt that the results of this trial must be shared as soon as is practically possible. The data were carefully cleaned to ensure accuracy before analyses could be started at the end of June. The first results were apparent in July. Given the implications of the trial results are potentially so huge, it is of utmost importance that the results are not only accurate, but they are carefully considered and correctly interpreted. We have been working extremely hard ensuring the analyses are complete and have had to do additional unanticipated analyses to ensure we have the best interpretation of the data. We will communicate these as soon as we can. We recognise the importance of communication with participants as well as the PD community in general. Thank you cards are sent/ given when the patients finish the trial. They may not have been approved by REC when Alison completed the trial so there may have been a delay in her receiving this. The last newsletter was sent out in January 2024. Please be reassured that no one is delaying the dissemination of the results unnecessarily. Apologies that this is taking longer than any of us hoped.”
Watch some behind the scenes footage
Some useful links
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