PDS reveals new research could detect early onset Parkinson's

Healthcare News
04/03/2010
Research pioneered by the PDS has discovered an interesting trend with two genes in particular.

The Parkinson's Disease Society (PDS) has announced that a new lead for potential treatments for the condition has been discovered by UK researchers in a study funded by the charity.

A team at the University of Sheffield carried out a study and for the first time identified how two genes linked to the early onset form of Parkinson's disease - known as parkin and PINK1 - can work together to remove damaged mitochondria from nerve cells in the brain.

It was asserted that people with Parkinson's disease lack the necessary amount of chemical dopamine as these nerve cells in the brain die, and those lost to the neurological disorder often contain damaged mitochondria.

Dr Kieran Breen, our director of research and development, said: "This is an important step forward in understanding what happens in the nerve cells which are lost in Parkinson's when there are faulty genes.

"From this, we may be able to slow down or even stop Parkinson's from progressing."

Around 10,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year, with 120,000 people in the country having the condition.

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