An estimated seven to ten million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease (PD). More than half of PD patients develop progressive disease showing signs of dementia similar to Alzheimer’s disease. A research team has discovered that non-inheritable PD may be caused by functional changes in the immune regulating gene Interferon-beta. Treatment with Interferon-beta-gene therapy successfully prevented neuronal death and disease effects in an experimental model of PD.