Alpha-synuclein is a protein in the human brain that is linked with the development of Parkinson’s disease. An important scientific paper came out in September 2017 describing how some common drugs, already approved by the Food and Drug Administration for other purposes, may lower the production of alpha-synuclein – and potentially protect against Parkinson’s. Dr. David K. Simon, Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, describes what the researchers did and what they found.