A possible cause of Parkinson's disease discovered
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 - 13:30
in Health & Medicine
When a person has Parkinson's disease, the dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain die. Scientists have discovered that this group of nerve cells of patients with Parkinson's contains defective nucleoli. These tiny structures within the cellular nucleus are needed for the vital process of protein synthesis. The researchers have shown in mice that disruptions in the nucleoli cause Parkinson's-like symptoms and may therefore be the cause of this disease.