When most people think of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), they may think of Micheal J. Fox or Muhammad Ali and their symptoms of jittery and slowed movements. Other symptoms include tremors, rigid muscles and impaired posture and balance.
They might not even think about the potential causes behind one of the most common neurological disease. PD is defined as a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. Individuals are usually diagnosed with PD around the age of 60.
The exact cause of PD is not known, but researchers have shown great interest in alpha-synuclein for playing a role in PD. Alpha-synuclein are proteins in the brain, their functions are still unknown.
The clumping of these alpha-synuclein form Lewy Bodies, which are toxic and lead to cell death. As they accumulate throughout the brain, the number of dopaminergic neurons decreases in the substantia nigra. The lack of dopaminergic neurons causes the motor issues associated with PD.
Other hypotheses for the loss of dopaminergic neurons include inflammation, autophagy, protein aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. A number of different kinases in these various biological processes can alter their functioning and cause the accumulation of alpha-synucleins.
New clinical trials of assorted treatments have been shown to decrease the number of Lewy Bodies. A vaccine approach targets alpha-synuclein and clears it from the brain. While other treatment methods have been shown to stop the clumping of alpha-synuclein, and break up existing clumps. These treatments show promise for curing a harmful disease.
It is estimated seven to 10 million people in the world have PD, and about 60,000 Americans obtain PD each year.
By continuing to examine different factors that may cause PD and continuing to push clinical trials for effective treatments. It will allow researchers to potentially find the cause of PD, and obtain a cure for it.
Parkinson's Disease Today
