As of Dec 5:  Patients to be recruited 71   Patients recruited...

As of Dec 5:  Patients to be recruited 71   Patients recruited 267

This is a very serious study of iron chelation (removal) in Parkinson's patients. That is not much news, but at least if they keep that page updated, it is more than we are getting from Prana PBT434 trial recruitment.

http://www.fairpark2.eu/9-the-project/66-patients-france

Prana co founder, Prof Ashley Bush ( The Florey) and Dr James Duce (Leeds University) are on the 12 person scientific advisory board. The rest are from European universities and one from Israel.

Patients are on the iron chelator drug(DFP). Patients are dosed for 9 months followed by a 1 month wash out period. The study started in 2015 and expected to run till 2020.

17 national, European and international studies will be linked to the project.

What they claim so far:

[Excess iron is primarily detected in the substantia nigra pars compacta, where dopaminergic neurons are exposed to high levels of oxidative stress produced by mitochondrial disorders and dopamine metabolism.

Our previous preclinical, translational and pilot clinical studies demonstrated that novel iron chelation therapy with the prototypic drug deferiprone (DFP)

1.induces neuroprotection in cell models of PD via a powerful antioxidant effect,

2. reduces regional siderosis of the brain,

3 reduces motor handicap via inhibition of catechol-o-methyl transferase,

4. and slows the progression of motor handicap in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine mouse model and in early PD patients.] 

 I can't see a reason there not to be optimistic about PBT434's chances.

Remember other studies have demonstrated that only free and lightly attached iron is the problem, and that is what PBT434 was selected to remove.