November. October. Semptember. August. Bacteria 'linked' to Parkinson's disease. 23 May 2011Last updated at 00:03 Could this bacterium cause Parkinson's disease?
The bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers have been linked to Parkinson's disease, according to researchers in the US. Breakthrough suggests damaged proteins travel between cells. The misfolding of abnormal proteins in brain cells is a key element in Parkinson's disease development.
A recent study suggests that the sick proteins slowly move between cells, eventually triggering the destruction of the new host cell. The discovery could potentially lead to new therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases aimed at blocking the spread of protein misfolding throughout the brain. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, reveals that damaged alpha-synuclein proteins (which are implicated in Parkinson's disease) can spread in a 'prion-like' manner, an infection model previously described for diseases such as BSE (mad cow disease).
A previous observation that aggregated alpha-synuclein protein gradually appears in healthy young neurons transplanted to the brains of Parkinson's patients initially gave rise to the group's hypothesis of cell-to-cell protein transfer.