In Parkinson's disease, brain cells abandon mitochondria
Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - 15:20
in Health & Medicine
In a study that sheds new light on the causes of Parkinson's disease, researchers report that brain cells in Parkinson's patients abandon their energy-producing machinery, the mitochondria. A shutdown in fuel can have devastating effects on brain cells, which consume roughly 20 percent of the body's energy despite making up only 2 percent of body weight.