Testing for Parkinson’s disease vaccine underway at University of Alberta

New research at the University of Alberta has led to advancements in the battle against Parkinson's disease. CTV News Edmonton's Curtis Goodrum reports.

Researchers at the University of Alberta are working to develop a vaccine for Parkinson’s disease and have entered the testing phase.

“We’ve been interested in the misfolded proteins that are thought to cause Parkinson’s disease,” said biochemistry professor Holger Wille. “There’s one particular protein, it’s called alpha-synuclein, which is known to be a big player in Parkinson’s disease.”

Wille, who is also the director of the Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases at the U of A, said when alpha-synuclein misfolds it takes on the toxic form causing Parkinson’s disease.

From there, researchers were able to figure out a way to make a vaccine that could teach the body to defend against the misfolded state of alpha-synuclein.

Testing on mice is underway, but it will still be some time before they start testing the vaccine on humans.

“We invented it as a prophylactic for people who have shown very early signs of Parkinson’s disease,” said Wille.

Some of those early signs can include a REM sleep behaviour disorder where you essentially act out your dreams while asleep.

“Normally we don’t move while dreaming, but if you start to act that out, that is now considered a precursor to Parkinson’s disease.”

Wille said the mice given the vaccine live 40 per cent longer than the mice that didn’t get the vaccine.

“It’s not perfect, of course … In the end, they still die from the disease, but a 40 per cent extension, if you would give this to a human being, would be tremendous.”

Neil Merkel was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2022.

“It hits you like a ton of bricks … I didn’t believe it at first,” said the 47-year-old. “I have most of my life ahead of me.”

Following his diagnosis, Merkel began reading about the disease, trying to understand its progression.

“It’s different for everybody. Some people can progress rapidly over a year or two, other people could go 10 years.”

But after talking to some therapists, he’s learned to put those thoughts on the back burner and focus on living and enjoying his life.

“Take each day one day at a time and just be positive getting out of bed every morning,” said Merkel. “It’s easier said than done, but a lot of it is just reinforcing a positive mindset.”

Merkel went to his general practitioner and family doctor after noticing a tremor in his right hand. They initially thought that it could just be a benign tremor and prescribed him beta blockers.

But the tremor worsened.

“Finally my wife stepped in, and she told the doctor ‘Look, it’s been a year already. It’s getting worse. There’s got to be something more to it. We would like a referral to a neurologist,’” recalled Merkel.

Since his diagnosis a few months later, he’s been working with the movement disorders clinic and his doctor to manage the disease.

“I have a really good doctor here … I’m lucky,” said Merkel. “I had a very good reaction to Carbidopa Levodopa. It’s basically the golden medication for Parkinson’s and it’s really been held at bay for the past four years … It hasn’t really progressed at all.”

Merkel has also taken on a healthier lifestyle with support from his family.

“Everyone is very supportive … they’re always asking me how I’m doing … it’s a world of support.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum