Wissenschaftler haben einen schützenden Gehirnweg identifiziert, der dazu beitragen kann, das Fortschreiten der Parkinson-Krankheit zu verlangsamen, indem er die dopaminproduzierenden Neuronen des Gehirns stärkt. Die positive Wirkung wurde jedoch nur bei Frauen beobachtet

>In the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers report that enhancing a pathway involving nicotine‑responsive receptors helped preserve dopamine‑producing neurons and reduced signs of degeneration in female models. Crucially, the effect occurred by boosting nicotine-responsive receptors without using nicotine. The findings point to a possible way to slow Parkinson’s itself, not just manage its symptoms, in a disease where progression has been impossible to stop.

> The pathway identified in the study centers on receptors that respond to acetylcholine, a natural brain chemical involved in movement and communication between neurons and the receptors where nicotine happens to bind

>One of the team’s most striking findings is that the protective brain mechanism operated only in female models. Across multiple measures — including preservation of dopamine neurons, reduced activation of cell‑death signals and healthier surrounding brain tissue — females consistently showed protection, while males did not.
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>“This wasn’t a subtle difference,” Srinivasan said. “The protective pathway was clearly engaged in females and absent in males.”
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>Parkinson’s disease affects males and females differently, and growing evidence suggests that biological sex plays a central role in how neurons respond to damage. Hormones, receptor trafficking and cellular regulation (the processes governing cell behavior) may all contribute to why the pathway functions differently across sexes.
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>“This study reinforces that sex differences are not secondary details, they are fundamental to how the disease works and how treatments may need to be designed,” Srinivasan said.

[Genetically encoded constitutive upregulation of β2 subunit containing neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors is neuroprotective in female parkinsonian mice | Journal of Neuroscience](https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2026/04/27/JNEUROSCI.1368-25.2026)