By Natalie Akoorie
New evidence on how Parkinson's disease spreads (click here) offers renewed hope for a cure, according to researchers.
In a paper, published today in Scientific Reports - Nature, the study revealed that pathological proteins (known as Lewy bodies) in Parkinson's disease could be spread from cell to cell.
The discovery, made by researchers at the University of Auckland, is the first strong evidence on how Parkinson's develops and will help advance treatment of the disease.
Associate Professor Maurice Curtis, who leads research on Parkinson's disease at the University's Centre for Brain Research, said the new evidence is the first proof, using donated human brains, of the mechanism controlling the spread.
Curtis said it was previously known that the troublesome Lewy bodies accumulated in susceptible cells, but it was not known that the protein could spread from cell to cell, in the same way a straw connects two cups....Obeso, Jose A., (click here)
...What can we learn from gene therapy? Currently, there are four clinical trials testing different gene therapy approaches against Parkinson's disease. One finding common to all of these studies is that no serious adverse events have yet been reported for any of the procedures....
