Beijing — More than five million people in China live with Parkinson’s disease, representing over 43 percent of the global total, and now researchers believe they’ve pinpointed a key brain network driving the condition. This discovery, published Thursday in Nature, could lead to more targeted and less invasive treatments.
Unlocking Parkinson’s: A New Understanding of Brain Network Dysfunction
A newly identified brain network, when disrupted, appears central to the development of Parkinson’s disease, offering a fresh perspective on existing therapies and potential future interventions.
- A specific brain network, the somatocognitive action network (SCAN), is critically impaired in Parkinson’s patients.
- SCAN becomes abnormally hyperconnected to deep-brain structures in those with the disease.
- Current Parkinson’s treatments appear to work by reducing this hyperconnectivity.
- A noninvasive brain circuit modulator targeting SCAN showed promising results in a clinical trial.
What causes Parkinson’s disease? The progressive neurological disorder, which impacts movement, sleep, mood, and overall quality of life, has long been a medical mystery. While there’s currently no cure, and treatments focus on managing symptoms, this new research offers a crucial piece of the puzzle.
An international team, led by Changping Laboratory and collaborating with Peking University, Tsinghua University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Harvard University, analyzed imaging data from 863 individuals. Their work identified the somatocognitive action network, or SCAN – a system responsible for coordinating whole-body movement – as being significantly impaired in individuals with Parkinson’s. Specifically, SCAN exhibits abnormally strong connections to several deep-brain structures in patients with the disease.
The researchers discovered that in Parkinson’s patients, SCAN shows excessive connectivity to subcortical regions, including the substantia nigra—the area where dopamine-producing neurons, crucial for movement, degenerate. This hyperconnectivity also extends to all known targets for deep brain stimulation, a current surgical treatment option.
“SCAN hyperconnectivity appears central to Parkinson’s pathophysiology, and its reduction is a hallmark of successful neuromodulation,” the study stated. The findings suggest that precisely targeting SCAN nodes could not only improve existing therapies but also open doors to new, minimally invasive treatment approaches.
Building on this understanding, Chinese researchers developed a noninvasive brain circuit modulator specifically designed to target the SCAN network. A clinical trial involving 36 patients revealed that this approach was twice as effective as traditional motor region stimulation, achieving a response rate of 55.5 percent.
As of late November, Liu Hesheng, a professor at Changping Laboratory and senior author of the study, reported that more than 100 patients in China and internationally had been treated with the device.
One patient, an elderly woman identified only as Hu, experienced significant improvements after just one course of treatment. She reported fewer falls and enhanced abilities in independent walking, swallowing, and speech. After three years of biannual sessions, she was able to reduce her medication by more than half, lowering her risk of motor complications and regaining the ability to manage daily activities independently. She is now planning a trip abroad.
Liu emphasized the importance of early intervention in neurodegenerative diseases, before substantial neuron loss hinders the potential for recovery. “While patients may hesitate to undergo invasive surgery in the early stages, this noninvasive therapy offers a viable option to intervene earlier and more precisely,” he said.
Ren Jianxun, a scientist at Changping Laboratory and first author of the study, stated that the device has received a Class 2 medical device registration license. “We aim to obtain the highest Class 3 certification by conducting further clinical trials in the coming years,” he said.
