A team of researchers working to analyze the effect of a liver disease drug on fruit flies discovered that the same treatment can prove helpful for slowing the development of Parkinson’s disease.

Findings of the study published in the journal Neurology revealed that the drug known as Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) had beneficial effects on fruit fly nerve cells.

The team working at the Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience and the University of York also found that the drug could address mutations of the LRRK2 gene, which is the most common inherited cause of Parkinson’s.

Dr. Heather Mortiboys, a Parkinson's UK senior research fellow at the University of Sheffield, said, “We demonstrated beneficial effects of UDCA in the tissue of LRRK2 carriers with Parkinson's disease as well as currently asymptomatic LRRK2 carriers. In both cases, UDCA improved mitochondrial function as demonstrated by increase in oxygen consumption and cellular energy levels”.

LRRK2 is very problematic, because it often damages mitochondria, which are the parts of the cell used to produce energy, said researchers. Once when cells start producing lower levels of energy, it typically leads to disease of the nervous system.

Furthermore for the study researchers tested UDCA in lab dishes, and found a positive boost to mitochondrial function. This then spurred them to try it out on living creatures, which in this case were fruit flies.

Researchers said when fruit flies with LRRK2 were given the drug, the degeneration rate of their brains significantly slowed down. This is a good indication of the positive effects of the drug, and show this link should merit further research.