China Achieves Major Breakthrough in Parkinson's Disease Treatment

How does AI · Parkinson’s disease new therapy achieve precise targeting through brain connectivity abnormalities?

Our reporter Wang Zhou

Bradykinesia, muscle rigidity, unsteady gait, along with sleep issues, memory decline, and emotional problems… Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder.

For a long time, medication and brain stimulation therapies have been the main treatments, but both have limitations: long-term drug use can lead to tolerance, and after 5 to 10 years, the risk of motor complications can reach 57% to 90%; brain stimulation requires implanting electrodes in the brain, which carries higher risks and costs. Even non-invasive brain stimulation has drawbacks such as unclear targets and unstable efficacy.

Recently, the latest research from the Changping Laboratory in Beijing has provided new evidence and methods for clinical treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

At the Changping Laboratory, a 7T MRI scanner is scanning volunteers’ heads. On a nearby screen, data such as blood oxygen levels and pulse rate are displayed in real-time as brain activity changes. “The device uses high-field MRI technology for functional imaging combined with physiological signal detection, enabling precise identification of different brain regions,” said researcher Ren Jianxun. By analyzing over 800 clinical imaging cases, the team found that patients with Parkinson’s disease exhibit abnormal increased connectivity between the somatosensory network and key brain regions like the basal ganglia and thalamus.

“‘Abnormal hyperconnectivity’ is a key mechanism causing disordered somatosensory circuits, leading to motor symptoms, initiation and coordination difficulties, as well as physiological and autonomic nervous system dysfunction,” explained Professor Liu Hesheng of the Changping Laboratory. This conclusion has been further confirmed in subsequent experiments. Currently, effective treatments for Parkinson’s disease all aim to improve this circuit abnormality.

“The clinical significance of this discovery is that it identifies targets for non-invasive brain stimulation, making treatments more precise and effective,” Liu Hesheng said. Recently, he and his team led a collaborative research effort involving Peking University, Tsinghua University, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, and more than ten other institutions, publishing their findings in the international journal Nature, marking a major breakthrough in Parkinson’s disease treatment in China.

The team relies on proprietary individual brain function segmentation technology to create millimeter-scale neural circuit maps tailored to each patient, enabling precise targeted therapy.

In the “Neurodegenerative Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Display Area” at the Changping Laboratory, a precise brain circuit stimulation system is on display. “The system backend receives MRI data, uses cameras for head positioning, and employs algorithms to ‘fit’ the data, allowing for accurate target localization, greatly enhancing treatment precision,” said Ren Jianxun.

“An integrated platform combining industry, academia, and research brings together clinical hospitals, scientific research teams, and engineering manufacturers, enabling sample collection and translation of results,” Liu Hesheng explained. Currently, the device has obtained national medical device registration approval and is being used in clinical treatments at multiple medical institutions. “We hope this technology can change the treatment paradigm for Parkinson’s disease and benefit more patients in the future,” said Xie Xiaoliang, director of the Changping Laboratory.