The brain cells responsible for triggering Parkinson's disease have been identified by scientists who believe the discovery could lead to new ways to treat the condition.

The "mother cells" which have been identified produce and use the chemical dopamine to transmit messages in the brain.

It is a depletion of these cells - so-called "dopaminergic neurons" - and the associated lack of dopamine which causes chronic and progressive symptoms including tremors, stiff muscles and slow movement in sufferers.

The team, which studied models of the disease in mice, found that these crucial neurons are created when certain cells divide during the early stages of brain development in the womb.

Research co-author Dr Anita Hall, from Imperial College London, said: "Now that we understand how these neurons are produced, we hope that this knowledge can be used to develop novel therapies including techniques to create replacement neurons for people with Parkinson's which could be implanted into the brain to bolster their vital supplies of dopamine."

The research, led by Prof Ernest Arenas of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, is published in the journal Glia.

Around 10,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease every year in the UK.