Parkinson by biological stress

• April 27, 2024

International scientists found a new genetic cause for the disease of Parkinson inherited, which they indicate could be the cause of the incapacity of brain cells to handle the biological stress .

According to neuroscientists of the Mayo Clinic in Florida (which helped direct the research), the study published in the September issue of American Journal of Human Genetics (American Journal of Human Genetics), completes more the picture of the disease as a complex disorder influenced by several genes .

Although a small number of families with this disease have been found, the scientists point out that the study offers a direct perspective on how the gene EIF4G1 can lead to the death of brain cells , resulting in the disease Parkinson and in others Relevant neurodegenerative disorders .

In this regard, the Dr. Justus C. Dachsel , Mayo neuroscientist and co-director of the study, explained that "this gene is different from others found to cause the disease Parkinson , because it controls the levels of proteins that help the cell to deal with different types of stress , such as those that are usually faced by cells as we grow older. "

"Given the function of this gene , the discovery opens a new research area within the disease of Parkinson and others neurodegenerative diseases ", Adds the co-author of the study, Dr. Owen Ross , neuroscientist Mayo Clinic .

"The perspective obtained regarding how the gene mutations EIF4G1 lead to cell death could be used to develop new therapies to treat or slow down the disease Parkinson "He said.

The study began when French scientists discovered a large family in northern France suffering from the disease Parkinson . Scientists discovered the mutation in the gene EIF4G1 within that family and in others also affected by the United States, Canada, Ireland and Italy.

When a cell is subject to stress , the protein EIF4G1 helps start the production of other proteins that help the cell to adapt.

Dr. Dachsel noted that said stress occurs naturally with aging and, if a cell cerebral He can not respond properly, then he dies. That inability to adapt is what led to the disease Parkinson to the families studied.

The scientists of May They have also found a number of genetic variants that increase a person's risk of developing another type of disease, which is late onset, more common and sporadic.

For more information on the subject, see our specials Parkinson disease Y stress.

Video Medicine: Environmental Factors in Parkinson's Disease with Harvey Checkoway - On Our Mind (April 2024).