Researchers at Simon Fraser University (SFU) are using a new brain imaging method that could help doctors better understand how Parkinson’s medications work in individual patients.
The study, published in the journal Movement Disorders, focused on the drug levodopa, which is the most common treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
Levodopa is designed to reduce movement symptoms like tremors and stiffness. While most patients benefit from the drug, not everyone responds equally. To find out why, SFU researchers teamed up with scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and used a brain imaging tool called magnetoencephalography (MEG).
MEG is a powerful, non-invasive technology that tracks the brain’s magnetic signals in real time. It allows researchers to see which areas of the brain are activated when a drug is taken. The team used MEG to scan the brains of 17 patients with Parkinson’s before and after they took levodopa.
Dr. Alex Wiesman, an assistant professor at SFU, helped lead the study. He explained that understanding how a drug affects specific brain regions could lead to more personalized treatment. “If we can see how levodopa activates the brain in each patient, it may help doctors choose the best medication or dosage,” he said.
The researchers discovered that in some patients, levodopa activated brain areas that are not usually linked to Parkinson’s symptoms. These “off-target” effects may limit the drug’s ability to help. Patients with off-target brain activation still benefited from levodopa, but not as much as others.
This new analysis technique allows scientists to check in real time whether a drug is helping or not, by tracking brain responses. The research also highlights how personalized medicine—treatments tailored to each individual—could improve the way we care for people with Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s is a progressive disease that damages nerve cells in the brain, especially in a region called the substantia nigra. It affects movement and can cause tremors, slow movement, and balance problems.
Wiesman believes that this approach to brain imaging could guide doctors in adjusting drug types and dosages to better match each patient’s needs. “The more we can personalize treatment, the better the outcomes will be,” he said.
The technology used in the study is housed at SFU’s ImageTech Lab in Surrey, which has the only MEG machine in western Canada. Wiesman and his team are now planning to study a larger group of patients and explore how to apply their method using more widely available brain imaging tools, like EEG.
The goal is to make this technology more accessible, so more patients with Parkinson’s disease can benefit from personalized treatment plans that truly work for them.
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The study is published in Movement Disorders.
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