 |
 |
Mechanism of neuronal damage in early-onset Parkinson's disease elucidated WESTPORT, Nov 03 (Reuters Health) - Mutations in the alpha-synuclein gene may cause early-onset Parkinson's disease by accelerating the formation of Lewy bodies, according to a report published in the November issue of Nature Medicine. The findings could lead to a treatment for Parkinson's disease. "What we should be able to do is make a drug and target it toward inhibiting fibril formation," Dr. Peter Lansbury told Reuters Health. "If you could delay the age of onset of Parkinson's disease by approximately 20 years, that would be a de facto cure." Dr. Lansbury and colleagues, of Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, found that a mutant form of alpha-synuclein, known as A53T, formed fibrils characteristic of Lewy bodies more quickly when concentrated and encouraged to aggregate than either wild type alpha-synuclein or another mutant, A30P. They detected another characteristic of Lewy bodies, spherical assemblies, in A30P as well as A53T. They speculate that spherical assemblies "...are intermediates in fibril formation." Using electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, the research team observed that fibrils produced in vitro were similar in height, width and morphology to Lewy bodies seen in autopsied brain samples from patients with Parkinson's disease. Dr. Lansbury noted that early-onset Parkinson's disease is analogous to early- onset Alzheimer's disease, in that genetic mutations seem to accelerate the pathogenesis of disease. "Significantly, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in the Parkinson's disease population, and vice versa, is far greater than would be expected by chance," he told Reuters Health. This observation, he said, is "...consistent with the notion that both diseases arise from similar processes and could be treated by similar strategies." Nat Med 1998;4:1318-1320. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. janet paterson - 51 now / 41 dx / 37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/ [log in to unmask]