Parkinson's protein in brain clumps.The mystery of Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism, degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease. , in which brain cells that produce the neurotransmitter neurotransmitter, chemical that transmits information across the junction (synapse) that separates one nerve cell (neuron) from another nerve cell or a muscle. Neurotransmitters are stored in the nerve cell's bulbous end (axon). dopamine dopamine (dōp`əmēn), one of the intermediate substances in the biosynthesis of epinephrine and norepinephrine. See catecholamine. dopamine One of the catecholamines, widely distributed in the central nervous system. gradually die, may be nearing a resolution. In June, scientists reported that some inherited cases of the disease result from mutations in the gene that encodes a protein called alpha-synuclein (SN: 6/28/97, p. 396). The investigators speculated that alpha-synuclein aggregates to form the so-called Lewy bodies, mysterious clumps clump n. 1. A clustered mass; a lump: clumps of soil. 2. A thick grouping, as of trees or bushes. 3. A heavy dull sound; a thud. v. that invariably in·var·i·a·ble adj. Not changing or subject to change; constant. in·var  i·a·bil show
up in the brain cells of people with Parkinson's. Studies using
antibodies that highlight the protein show that this is indeed the case,
Maria Grazia Spillantini of the University of Cambridge in England and
her colleagues report in the Aug. 28 Nature.
Instead of examining people who had inherited the brain disorder, the researchers scrutinized Lewy bodies from Parkinson's patients who did not have a mutation in the alpha-synuclein gene. Such people make up the majority of Parkinson's patients. The discovery of normal alpha-synuclein in their Lewy bodies suggests that other genes, or some unknown environmental factors, induce the protein to aggregate. The scientists also report that alpha-synuclein exists in the Lewy bodies characteristic of another brain disorder, a type of dementia. While they have not yet proven that Lewy bodies kill brain cells, scientists are already exploring ways to prevent alpha-synuclein aggregation. |
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