Scientists have just identified several molecules capable of reversing the brain abnormalities of Parkinson’s disease (PD), while also uncovering new clues for its origin in a study just published in the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms¹. PD is characterised by abnormal deposits of a brain protein called alpha-synuclein throughout the damaged brain regions, but exactly what they do there is not clear. The fact that their numbers and spreading are associated disease progression has made them, however, a major point of interest in PD research. The work now published suggests that these deposits are actually a normal physiological process to purge unwanted proteins but, when “overloaded”, they can also cause of the cellular abnormalities seen in PD neurons and, ultimately, neural death.

* This article is the result of a project for the divulgation of portuguese science. Find all the articles here . Read about this project here.