alpha-synuclein

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alpha-synuclein

Featured Genetics Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 23, 2020·4 min read

Unique Protein Structures Could Hold the Key to Parkinson’s Disease

Researchers have discovered a series of misfolded alpha-synuclein protein structures never previously observed. The alpha-synuclein fibers were larger than previously reported and adopted a striking variety of shapes. The work lays the foundation for a detailed analysis of misfolded alpha-synuclein structures and could provide a better understanding of the neurobiology of Parkinson's disease. Read More

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 30, 2020·3 min read

Researchers unravel protein mystery of three brain diseases

Researchers have identified two different shapes of alpha-synuclein associated with multiple systems atrophy (MSA) and Lewy body dementia. The structure of the protein is helical in MSA, causing the symptoms to occur more quickly and aggressively. In Lewy body dementia, the protein takes on a cylindrical form. Read More

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 20, 2020·4 min read

Further evidence autoimmunity plays a role in Parkinson’s disease

T cells that react to alpha-synuclein are most abundant in the early stages of Parkinson's disease but tend to disappear as the disease progresses. Signs of autoimmunity can appear in Parkinson's patients up to ten years before a diagnosis of the neurodegenerative disease. The detection of T cell response could be an early biomarker for Parkinson's, long before the physical symptoms begin to manifest. Read More

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·March 13, 2020·5 min read

‘Natural killer’ cells could halt Parkinson’s progression

Natural killer cells may play a critical role in regulating and restraining neuroinflammation and protein clumping associated with Parkinson's disease. Read More

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·March 11, 2020·5 min read

New target for Parkinson’s therapies identified

Two regions outside of the non-amyloid-beta-component play a critical role in controlling amyloid formation of alpha-synuclein. Read More

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·February 18, 2020·5 min read

Parkinson’s biomarker may originate in gut

Using mouse models, researchers seeded alpha-synuclein aggregates in gut neurons and discovered the clumps can travel to neurons in the brain. Read More

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 16, 2020·4 min read

Cough syrup drug being trialed as Parkinson’s treatment

Ambroxol, a medication approved to treat coughs, may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. The medication is able to effectively cross the blood-brain barrier and increases levels of GCase in patients' brains. Ambroxol also appears to reduce Parkinson's-related alpha-synuclein levels. Read More

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·January 27, 2020·5 min read

Parkinson’s disease may start before birth

10% of patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease are between the ages of 21 and 50. For those with young-onset Parkinson's disease, researchers report the foundations for the disease may have been apparent before they were born. The study also points to a drug, currently approved to treat precancerous skin growths, that has the potential to reduce elevated levels of alpha-synuclein. Read More

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·January 17, 2020·3 min read

New insights into a Parkinson’s disease protein

Alpha synuclein's non-amyloidal component (NAC) aids the protein's movement through axons. When the NAC region is removed, alpha-synuclein did not move within axons. Read More

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·January 14, 2020·3 min read

Probiotic could guard against Parkinson’s

Building on previous research that links gut bacteria to the development of Parkinson's disease, researchers identified a probiotic which prevents the formation of alpha-synuclein. Read More

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 14, 2019·4 min read

Targeting alpha-synuclein in the gut may slow down Parkinson’s disease

Scientists are conducting experiments to see if targeting the enteric nervous system with a compound can inhibit the aggregation of alpha-synuclein and slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Read More

This shows the outline of two bodies. One has the head highlighted red, the other has the gut highlighted red

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 7, 2019·4 min read

Where does Parkinson’s disease start? In the brain or gut? Or both?

Lewy body disorders, including Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, comprise of two distinct subtypes. One subtype originates in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of the gut and spreads to the brain. The other originates in the brain, or enters the brain via the olfactory system, before spreading to the brainstem and PNS. Read More

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