Pippa MyringScientists at the University of York have made important steps towards pin pointing the cause of Parkinson’s disease in young adults.
The second most common neurodegenerative disease, Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition effecting one in every 500 people, around 120,000 people in the UK, and 6.3 million people world wide. The disease is caused by low levels of the chemical dopamine due to some nerve cells in the brain dying. These nerve cells control coordination and body movements. Scientists are not yet certain as to why people get the disease.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s, and their progression and severity vary greatly between individuals. Generally they include tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement, and other symptoms such as tiredness, pain, depression, constipation. Symptoms can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages and tend to occur when 80% of the nerve cells which produce dopamine have died.
There is currently no cure for the disease and symptoms often become worse over time. However, they can be controlled through drugs and therapies. Furthermore, individuals suffering with the disease often have a decent quality of life, but may need varying levels of care and support.
Parkinson’s mainly effects people over 60, and statistically, men are slightly more likely to develop the disease. However, one in twenty people diagnosed with the disease are under 40. This form of Parkinson’s is known as young onset PD, or juvenile PD in people under 18. Early onset Parkinson’s is often inherited. The genes which have be found to cause the disease are linked by a common failure of the power source within each cell, or the mitochondria.
Research by the scientists at the University, part funded by research charity Parkinson’s UK, has discovered evidence that tremors and slowness of movement associated with Parkinson’s could be caused by a defect in energy production in the nervous system. It is hoped that these finding will help to recognise young adults who may be susceptible to the disease.
Studying the effects of the parkin, one of the genes which causes juvenile PD, on the larva of fruit flies, scientists at the University found parkin causes the same effects as PD, causing reduced speed and slow muscle contractions. Researches discovered that oxygen consumption and the main supply of energy inside cells was significantly reduced, in turn increasing lactate. The research also found evidence of oxidative stress caused by high levels of reactive oxygen species, a key component of PD.
Leader of the research, Dr. Chris Elliott said, “Our experimental evidence confirmed that this was due to a defect in the nervous system. This was important because previous work had suggested a big impact on the muscles, but PD is associated with neuronal failure.”
Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research and Innovation at Parkinson’s UK said, “finding ways to protect and enhance the mitochondria may be the key to treatments that can slow or even stop Parkinson’s in its tracks”.
With a cure yet to be found for the chronic disease, the research carried out by scientists at the University of York is an important and positive step towards better understanding Parkinson’s and improving the lives of those who have it.
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