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May 7, 2006
Parkinson's targets 'cell boiler room'
Topics: Health Issues
Researchers have suggested that Parkinsons may trigger symptoms by crippling the key energy-producing "boiler room of brain cells".
Two studies by US and Korean scientists focused on a mutant protein implicated in inherited Parkinson's.Read more hereIn tests on fruit flies, they found it disabled energy-producing cell structures called mitochondria, damaging cells controlling movement.
Previous research has established that an inherited form of early-onset Parkinson's - autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism (AR-JP) - is caused by mutations in a gene called PINK1.
This appeared to cause serious damage to muscle cells, which led to movement problems.
It also appeared to lead to trigger degeneration of cells that transport a key chemical, dopamine, around the brain.
Posted by at May 7, 2006 2:45 AM
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