Plonk? C/E --- "M.Schild" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Keep in the PINK to avoid Parkinson's > Keeping fit and avoiding diabetes could also help to > protect you from > Parkinson's disease > > > > > A team of scientists at Heriot-Watt University in > Edinburgh have discovered a > mechanism linking the development of Parkinson's disease > to people who have > already developed Type II Diabetes. > In recent months researchers in Finland have demonstrated > that your risk of > developing Parkinson's is approximately doubled if you > develop Type II > Diabetes, while American researchers have shown that if > you exercise > regularly (which decreases your chance of getting > diabetes) you are also half > as likely to get Parkinson's, but no-one was sure why. > The Heriot-Watt team, led by Professor James Timmons, > Professor of Exercise > Biology at the School of Life Sciences, have discovered > that the biochemical > changes brought about by diabetes switch off a gene > called the PINK1 gene, > and loss of function of this gene is a established cause > of Parkinson's. > The team made their discovery by comparing 200 tissue > samples donated by > volunteers, many of whom have been diagnosed with Type II > Diabetes. > > They found that the Diabetes patients produce less of > the product of the > PINK1 gene, and are thus more liable to develop > Parkinson's, and that this > may happen because it is the immediate neighbour of a > known Diabetes gene > (DDOST). > Professor Timmons said, "Loss of PINK1 isn't the only > cause of Parkinson's, > but discovering this direct link between Diabetes and > regulation of the PINK1 > gene is the first example of a molecular mechanism > potentially linking the > two terrible illnesses, rather than just a statistical > association in > population studies. > > The next step is to find exactly how loss of PINK1 > actually causes the > neuronal cell death, and hence Parkinson's. > "It also helps to demonstrate that, in contrast to the > traditional image of > whether you have a 'healthy' gene sequence or not, in > fact your 'healthy' > genetic sequence can 'switched off' over time, leading to > the development of > illness, and importantly that these changes can be caused > by external > influences such as lifestyle choices." > The next step for the team is to understand the > biochemical process which > actually causes the PINK1 (and related Diabetes gene) to > be switched off, in > the hope that they can find ways to tackle both diseases. > > Meanwhile their recommendation is to make the lifestyle > choices including > taking regular exercise, which can help to prevent > Diabetes and thereby > potentially reduce your risk of developing Parkinson's. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn