Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease common cause

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease common cause
Erick G. Rodríguez
Biol.3009

Problem:
What causes patients having Alzheimer's disease to exhibit signs of Parkinson's disease and vice versa?

Hipothesis:
There is a common cause for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Objectives:
Find how neurons degenerate in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, consequently leading to a better understanding of a common cause between these two diseases.

Background:
Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson’s disease:
The most common progressive neurologic diseases
Irreversible loss of neurons in various areas of the brain
Caused by the accumulation of proteins
Incurable

Alzheimer's disease

Parkinson's disease
Protein aggregates accumulate, killing the neurons in the midbrain that release dopamine at synapses in the basal nuclei.
Lewybodies and Lewyneurities are made of ubiquitin and α-synuclein.
α-synuclein is found naturally in the brain and controls communication between neurons in the brain

visual
auditory systems
eye movement
body movement
HOPES. (2004). The HOPES Brain Tutorial. Available: http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/basics/braintut/ab3.html. Last accessed 29 Jun 2009.

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Link
Many patients have symptoms of both diseases.
EliezerMasliah at the University of California, San Diego
β-amyloidand α-synuclein are active proteins in both diseases
this two proteins work together to create a hybrid protein with a small hole called a nanopore that alters neuronal activity
β-amyloid promote α-synuclein aggregation

Tsigelny I., Crews L., Desplats P., Shaked G., Sharikov Y., Mizuno H., Spencer B., Rockenstein E., Trejo M., Platoshyn O., Yuan J., Masliah E.. (2008). Mechanisms of Hybrid Oligomer Formation in the Pathogenesis of Combined Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases. Available: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003135. Last accessed 27 Jun 2009.

Methodology:
Molecular modeling
“In vitro” experimentation to create the hybrid protein
Insert hybrid protein into the brains of live mice
“In vivo” experimentation to see its effects in the mice and compare effects with control mice.

Controls
Control will be mice that have Alzheimer’s disease, mice that have Parkinson’s disease and healty mice that doesn’t have any link with this two diseases.
Make post mortem examination of the mice brains
Immunohistochemistry

Future plans:
Discover new and better therapies for both diseases.
Find inhibitor for the enzymes that produce β-amyloid and α-synucleinproteins
Discover new tools for diagnosing these diseases

References:
Campbell, N. and Reece, J. (2008). Biology. 8th ed. United States: Pearson Benjamin Cummings. 1082-1083.
Tsigelny I., Crews L., Desplats P., Shaked G., Sharikov Y., Mizuno H., Spencer B., Rockenstein E., Trejo M., Platoshyn O., Yuan J., Masliah E.. (2008). Mechanisms of Hybrid Oligomer Formation in the Pathogenesis of Combined Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases. Available: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003135. Last accessed 27 Jun 2009.

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Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease common cause

by erickrodriguez on Aug 14, 2009

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