Shanghai Popular Science Forum Explores A Novel Therapeutic Target for Parkinson’s Disease

April 11 marked the 29th World Parkinson’s Disease Day. On this occasion, the 223rd session of the Shanghai Popular Science Forum, along with a special event for World Parkinson’s Disease Day, was held at the Jinhai Culture & Art Center in Pudong New Area. The event featured a lecture titled “Tracking FAM171A2: A Novel Therapeutic Target for Parkinson’s Disease” delivered by Dr. Yuan Peng, a researcher from the Institute for Translational Brain Research, Fudan University, and Dr. Wu Kaimin from Huashan Hospital, Fudan University. The lecture aimed to enhance public awareness of Parkinson’s disease, draw attention to patients, and advance research and treatment progress.

During the lecture, Dr. Yuan explained the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and current clinical treatment strategies, highlighting the effects and limitations of existing therapies in alleviating motor symptoms. He emphasized the importance of developing new strategies to halt disease progression. Dr. Wu provided a detailed introduction to FAM171A2, a previously uncharacterized protein, as a novel therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease. He talked about how it was discovered, its role in the disease progression, and its therapeutic potential. In the lively interactive session, the two experts took questions from the audience and shared their research experiences.

In recent years, the Shanghai Popular Science Forum has collaborated with scientists across various fields to create a high-quality platform for scientific exchange. Since its inception in 2009, the forum has invited 453 experts, including Nobel laureates, academicians, scientists, educators, artists, and entrepreneurs, to carry out 277 captivating sessions that have reached over 29.3 million participants online and offline.