Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Feb 02, 2026 1 hour, 45 minutes ago
Medical News: Pridopidine a Promising New Drug That Could Slow Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are devastating conditions that slowly damage the brain and nervous system, leading to loss of movement, speech, and independence. Scientists are now reporting encouraging findings about a drug called pridopidine, which may help protect nerve cells and slow disease progression rather than just treating symptoms.
Pridopidine may protect brain cells and slow progression in serious neurodegenerative disorders
This
Medical News report highlights a detailed scientific review led by researchers from Prilenia Therapeutics in the Netherlands, Yale University School of Medicine in the United States, SigmaDrugs Research in Hungary, the University of Bari Aldo Moro in Italy, and the University of British Columbia in Canada. The research carefully examined how pridopidine works inside brain cells and why it may benefit people living with serious neurological disorders.
Understanding the Target Inside Brain Cells
Pridopidine works by activating a protein known as the sigma-1 receptor, which is found in many parts of the body but is especially important in brain cells. This receptor acts like a cellular coordinator, helping cells respond to stress, manage energy production, control calcium levels, and clear away damaged proteins. These functions are often severely disrupted in diseases like Huntington’s disease and ALS.
The researchers explain that when the sigma-1 receptor does not function properly, brain cells become vulnerable to damage and eventually die. By strongly and selectively activating this receptor, pridopidine helps restore balance inside the cell and supports survival pathways that are essential for healthy nerve function.
Repairing Energy and Stress Systems in Neurons
One of the most important findings is that pridopidine helps repair communication between two key cell structures, the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. These structures work together to manage energy, calcium flow, and stress responses. In neurodegenerative diseases, this connection is often broken, leading to toxic stress and energy failure inside neurons.
Laboratory studies showed that pridopidine restored this connection, improved energy production, reduced harmful oxidative stress, and normalized calcium levels. This combination is critical because brain cells require enormous amounts of energy and are extremely sensitive to internal stress.
Boosting Brain Growth and Connectivity
Another major benefit of pridopidine is its ability to increase the availability and movement of brain derived neurotrophic factor, often described as fertilizer for brain cells. This substance supports neuron growth, strengthens connections between cells, and helps maintain memory and movement control.
In disease models of Huntington’s disease and ALS, pridopidine improved the transport and release of this growth factor, restored damaged synapses, and preserved tiny structures called dendritic spines
that are essential for communication between neurons. These effects suggest that the drug may help maintain brain networks over time.
Evidence from Animal and Human Studies
In animal studies, pridopidine improved movement, reduced anxiety like behavior, preserved muscle connections, and extended survival. Importantly, early treatment produced the strongest benefits. Human clinical trials in Huntington’s disease and ALS showed encouraging signals, including slower functional decline, improved motor coordination, better speech measures, and preserved daily functioning in selected patient groups. The drug was also found to be generally safe and well tolerated even with long term use.
Conclusions
Overall, the findings suggest that pridopidine does more than mask symptoms. By protecting nerve cells, restoring critical cellular systems, and supporting brain connectivity, it may slow the underlying disease process itself. While further trials are still needed, this research offers renewed hope that targeting core survival mechanisms in brain cells could change the future of treatment for devastating neurodegenerative disorders.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Pharmaceuticals
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/12/1900
For the latest research on neurodegenerative diseases, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/alzheimer,-dementia-
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