Researchers led by Beijing”s Changping Laboratory have identified a specific brain network whose dysfunction appears central to Parkinson’s disease, a finding that helps explain how existing treatments work and points to more precise, less invasive therapies.
The study, published in Nature on Thursday, identifies the somatocognitive action network, or SCAN — a system that coordinates whole-body movement — as critically impaired in Parkinson’s patients. Among those with the disease, SCAN becomes abnormally hyperconnected to several deep-brain structures.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that affects movement, sleep, mood and overall quality of life. There is no cure, and current treatments focus on symptomatic relief. China has more than five million Parkinson’s…