WELCOME TO OUR PARKINSON'S PLACE!

I HAVE PARKINSON'S DISEASES AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE THE CONTENTS OF UPDATED NEWS IS FOUND IN ONE PLACE. THAT IS WHY I BEGAN THIS BLOG.

I COPY NEWS ARTICLES PERTAINING TO RESEARCH, NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE, DEMENTIA, THE BRAIN, DEPRESSION AND PARKINSON'S WITH DYSTONIA. I ALSO POST ABOUT FUNDRAISING FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND EVENTS. I TRY TO BE UP-TO-DATE AS POSSIBLE.

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR IT'S CONTENTS. I AM JUST A COPIER OF INFORMATION SEARCHED ON THE COMPUTER. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE COPIES ARE JUST THAT, COPIES AND AT TIMES, I AM UNABLE TO ENLARGE THE WORDING OR KEEP IT UNIFORMED AS I WISH. IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND I AM A PERSON WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. I HAVE NO MEDICAL EDUCATION,

I JUST WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU WHAT I READ ON THE INTERNET. IT IS UP TO YOU TO DECIDE WHETHER TO READ IT AND TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR DOCTOR. I AM JUST THE COPIER OF DOCUMENTS FROM THE COMPUTER. I DO NOT HAVE PROOF OF FACT OR FICTION OF THE ARTICLE. I ALSO TRY TO PLACE A LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH ARTICLE TO SHOW WHERE I RECEIVED THE INFORMATION SO THAT YOU MAY WANT TO VISIT THEIR SITE.

THIS IS FOR YOU TO READ AND TO ALWAYS KEEP AN OPEN MIND.

PLEASE DISCUSS THIS WITH YOUR DOCTOR, SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, OR CONCERNS. NEVER DO ANYTHING WITHOUT TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST..

I DO NOT MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THIS WEBSITE. I VOLUNTEER MY TIME TO HELP ALL OF US TO BE INFORMED.

I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY ADVERTISEMENT OR HEALING POWERS, HEALING FROM HERBS AND ETC. UNLESS IT HAS GONE THROUGH TRIALS AND APPROVED BY FDA. IT WILL GO INTO SPAM.

THIS IS A FREE SITE FOR ALL WITH NO ADVERTISEMENTS

THANK YOU FOR VISITING! TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

TRANSLATE

Monday, December 18, 2017

Parkinson's disease: How toxic proteins damage healthy brain cells

December 18, 2017     By 


For the first time, researchers have spied toxic proteins at work in Parkinson's disease and identified key features that enable them to drill holes through the walls of healthy brain cells to disrupt their function.

New findings show that 'oligomers' harm the integrity of cell membranes

A report on the new discovery — by researchers from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy and published in the journal Science — describeswhat happens when the proteins come into contact with cells.
First study author Dr. Giuliana Fusco — of both Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge, both in the U.K. — says that the scientists hope that the findings will lead to improved drugs for Parkinson's disease that stop the toxic proteins from getting into healthy brain cells.
Parkinson's is a disease that gradually destroys the brain cells that produce a messenger chemical called dopamine, which is important for controlling movement.
The symptoms — which develop slowly and get worse over time — include impaired balance, rigidity, slowness of movement, tremors, and problems with speaking and swallowing.
Researchers have also discovered that Parkinson's affects non-dopamine brain cells, which may explain why the disease often has symptoms that are not to do with movement, such as anxietydepressionfatigue, and sleep disruption.
It is thought that more than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease, including an estimated 1 million in the United States.
Although it most often strikes after the age of 50, around 10 percent of cases of Parkinson's disease are diagnosed in people of a younger age.

Oligomers 'disrupt cell membrane integrity'

In the new study, the researchers observed what happens when a protein called alpha synuclein malfunctions and forms into clusters called oligomers, which are toxic to brain cells.
They used solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to characterize different structural features of the oligomers and then examined how the features influenced their interaction with the cells. They used brain cells from rats as well as brain cells sampled from human brain tumors.
The study is significant because the team found a way to keep the normally unstable oligomers stable for long enough to observe a level of detail that has not been seen before. Once they form, oligomers very quickly either enter cells, dissolve, or turn into long fibers.
By keeping the oligomers stable, the researchers were able to identify two features that are key to their toxicity: one that allows them to stick to the cell wall, and another that lets them penetrate the membrane and disrupt cell function.
"It is a bit like if you put a piece of extremely hot metal on to a plastic surface," explains co-senior study author Dr. Alfonso De Simone, of the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. "In a fairly short space of time it will burn a hole through the plastic."
He suggests that the oligomer's ability to "disrupt the integrity of the membrane" is a crucial step in the process that eventually kills the brain cell.

Both similar and different to viruses
In further experiments, the team found a way that might reduce oligomer toxicity. They found that altering its protein sequence made the oligomer less able to stick to the cell membrane.
The researchers likened the behavior of the oligomers and their propensity to stick to the walls of brain cells as similar to the way that viruses enter cells. The difference is that while a virus then adapts the cell machinery to its own end, the oligomer just disrupts it.
Dr. De Simone also suggests that oligomers are able to attach themselves to cell membranes because of "an accident of nature" that gives them the same features as normal membrane proteins that help with brain signaling.
"
Just having this information doesn't mean that we can now go and make a drug, but obviously if we can understand why these clumps of proteins behave the way they do, we can make faster scientific progress towards treating Parkinson's disease."

Dr. Giuliana Fusco

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320399.php

No comments:

Post a Comment