Immune gene prevents Parkinson's disease, dementia
Friday, October 9, 2015 - 09:00
in Health & Medicine
An estimated seven to ten million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease (PD). More than half of PD patients develop progressive disease showing signs of dementia similar to Alzheimer's disease. A research team has discovered that non-inheritable PD may be caused by functional changes in the immune regulating gene Interferon-beta. Treatment with Interferon-beta-gene therapy successfully prevented neuronal death and disease effects in an experimental model of PD.