Stanford Medicine-led research in mice indicates that decreasing LRRK2 enzyme activity could halt cell death in patients with a type of Parkinson’s disease.

Putting the brakes on an enzyme might rescue neurons that are dying due to a type of Parkinson’s disease that’s caused by a single genetic mutation, according to a new Stanford Medicine-led study conducted in mice.

The genetic mutation causes an enzyme called leucine-rich repeat kinase 2, or LRRK2, to be overactive. Too much LRRK2 enzyme activity changes the structure of brain cells in a way that disrupts crucial communication between neurons that make the neurotransmitter dopamine and cells in the striatum, a region deep in the brain that is part of the dopamine system and is involved in movement, motivation, and decision-making.

Read more: Inhibiting enzyme could stabilize progression of Parkinson’s symptoms at Stanford Report