Source: GSF - National Research Center for Environment and Health
Date: May 21, 2007
Summary:
Parkinson’s disease, also known as shaking palsy, is one of the most frequent diseases of the nervous system. Cell death of neurons in specific regions of the midbrain is leading to the onset of the disease. However, the the causes for this extensive cell death are unknown. Especially in cases of early manifestation of the disease mutations in the so-called parkin gene are of great significance. German scientists have now been able to reveal a novel function for the Parkin protein. The scientists could show that Parkin prevents the induction of neuronal cell death. As reported in the Journal of Neuroscience, the protein activates a survival mechanism which had been known for its prominent role in immune response.
