A drug initially designed to treat diabetes may be a breakthrough treatment for Parkinson's disease. After decades of disappointment, could MSDC-0160 be the drug researchers have been searching for?

Parkinson's disease is a progressive condition that strikes the central nervous system. Causing a range of motor symptoms, it develops gradually, starting with a subtle tremor. An estimated 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's every year, and over 10 million people worldwide are living with the disease. Due to society's steadily increasing in lifespan, this figure is likely to increase over the coming years. Despite billions of dollars of research, t

Researchers may be one step closer to developing new drugs that can stop cancer in its tracks, after discovering a protein that is essential to the spread of the disease. What is more, dietary fat appears to work with this protein to exacerbate the spread of cancer cells.

Lead investigator Prof. Salvador Aznar Benitah, of the Institute for Research Barcelona (IRB) in Spain, and colleagues recently published their findings in the journal Nature. This year, it is estimated that more than 1.6 million people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer. While an increasing number of people are surviving the disease, almost 600,000 Americans are expected to die from cancer in 2016. The earlier the disease is diagnosed, the greater the chance of successful treatment. Once cancer has spread to other areas of the body - a process known as metastasis - it can be much harder to control and treat.