Researchers have identified a key enzyme driving forms of Parkinson’s disease, and have shown how blocking it restores normal function in animal and cell models, offering a promising new drug target for the condition.

The work is published in the journal Neuron.

In Parkinson’s, a protein known as alpha-synuclein builds up in clumps called Lewy bodies in nerve cells in the brain. These clumps of protein stop these cells from functioning normally, eventually leading the cells to die.