Scientists from the University of Cambridge have first discovered protein clusters in a person's brain, which is supposed to cause Parkinson's disease. The results of the study were published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
These clusters are called alpha-Sinucley Oligomers, small protein aggregates, which have long been considered a possible cause of destroying neurons during Parkinson's disease. However, so far such clusters were not imagined in a human brain texture. They were too small to detect.
The ASA-PD (Advanced AGGREGATE DETECTION IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE method is based on the fluorescenter anounceral microscope. It allows the oligomers to imagine in the brain texture, count, measure, compare healthy individuals and Parkinson's disease.
The study showed that the oligomers exist to everyone, but they are larger and more in Parkinson's patients. The scientists' team also found a special subclass of protein, which is found only in Parkinson's patients, possibly the earliest biomarkers of the disease, which have arisen long before clinical symptoms.
"It simply came to our notice then. To date, Lewi's bodies, large protein formations that appear in the late stage, were the main marker of the disease. Oligomers, however, can be the key to early diagnosis, "said Doctor Rebecca Andrus, one of the authors of the study.
This discovery can change our perceptions of Parkinson's disease development and speed up the development of early detection methods and possible treatment. Researchers also believe that ASA-PD technology can be used to study other neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.
Translation of: Euromedia24.com
