A New Movement in Parkinson’s

By: Adrienne Lindsey

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-movement-in-parkinson-2005-07

My Summary:

Parkinson’s disease is among the most prevalent of neurological disorders. It is estimated that at least four million people have it worldwide. It is also estimated that about 500,000 to one million people have the disease in North America, with about 50,000 cases being diagnosed each year. These numbers are expected to double by the year 2040 as the world’s elderly population grows. James Parkinson first described this neurodegenerative disease in the 1800s as “shaking palsy”.
Like other neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s is on its way to surpassing cancer as the leading cause of death in the elderly. But the elderly are not the only ones affected by this debilitating disease. About fifty percent of cases are diagnosed or start before the age of forty. Although treatments such as drugs and brain stimulation for the disease do exist, researchers have not yet found a way to prevent or slow down the onset of Parkinson’s. However, in recent years scientists who study the role of proteins have linked some proteins to the genetic foundations of this disease. Such findings give hope that the cause of the disease can be identified.
Many people are familiar with the affects of Parkinson’s due to the efforts of celebrities in recent years that currently live with the disease. Parkinson’s is characterized by movement disorders. Tremor in hands, arm rigidity, impaired balance and coordination and slowness of movement are some of the disease’s chief symptoms. Some also have trouble walking, talking and sleeping among other things. Such impairments are a result of neurons dying. The cells that are hit the hardest are those that produce the neurotransmitter, dopamine. Initially the brain can function normally, but when half or more of the cells disappear the brain can no longer support them. In the case of Parkinson’s the damages to the brain that are seen through autopsies are protein masses also featured in Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s. Investigators debate on whether the protein clusters cause destruction or whether they try to protect and remove toxic molecules from the neurons.
In recent years scientists have come to believe that Parkinson’s develops when some form of injury to the substantia nigra triggers a cascade of cellular stresses. These stresses result in a wealth of misfolded proteins that congregate. Chaperones star eliminating proteins that cannot be refolded and when the production of poorly folded proteins overwhelms the body’s ability to process them neuronal death follows. Recently scientists have found that perhaps chaperone-type drugs can be developed to limit degeneration in people. Scientists also believe that gene therapy could possibly be used to trigger the production of needed chaperones. Although there is still so much to be learned about Parkinson’s disease, the cellular insights that have come about encourage researchers and give hope for the development of future treatments that could improve and help control this disorder.

My Response:
I was encouraged to read about all of the new research that had come about regarding Parkinson’s disease. Although I don’t know anyone personally who is affected by the disease, I have seen celebrities who have the disease and how it affects them. I was also astonished at the growth of this disease. 50,000 new cases a year is a little scary. I was surprised to hear that half of new Parkinson’s cases affect those forty and under. The fact that the number will double in the next twenty years also concerned me. It is good to know that efforts are being made to improve the lives of those with this disease.