Researchers are using a pioneering "Benjamin Button" reverse ageing technique to come to a better understanding of Parkinson's, which could lead to more effective treatments.
The technique takes skin cells that have been donated by people with the condition and turns them back into stem cells by using a combination of "reprogramming factors". Stem cells have the potential to become almost any other cell in the body, making them a useful tool to study conditions such as Parkinson’s, as they can make studying the brain more accessible.
This way of producing stem cells has been likened to the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which Brad Pitt plays a character who ages in reverse. The lead researcher carrying out this work at Cardiff University believes that this work could bring them closer to finding a cure for the disease.
