In Parkinson's brain cells that produce
a chemical called dopamine stop working properly
and are lost slowly over time
Without dopamine these cells are not able to
send messages to control movement
And symptoms start to appear
What the cells need is more dopamine
But dopamine itself cannot be taken in a pill
As it won't reach the brain
Levodopa is the most common drug that people take
It can get into the brain
where it can be converted into dopamine
And suddenly brain cells can
start sending messages again
There are many different drugs for Parkinson's
But most work by topping up or mimicking
the effect of dopamine
They help manage the symptoms
But none of them can slow or stop
the loss of dopamine producing cells
As more cells are lost people need
to take more drugs to top up their dopamine
and this can lead to side effects
We urgently need better treatments
that can do more than just replace dopamine
That's why we're striving
for new and better treatments
in years rather than decades
