Scientists are close to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease
Researchers studied mutant fruit flies to uncover how the disease affects the brain
SCIENTISTS are on the brink of finding a cure for Parkinson's disease after discovering what causes the illness and how it affects brain cells.
Experts previously thought people who fell ill at a younger age than most who develop Parkinson's suffer from a poorly functioning 'mitochondria'.
These are the powerhouses of cells and without reliable sources of energy, neurons wither and die.
But Medical Research Council researchers at University of Leicester found this may not be the complete picture of what is happening within the brain cells affected by Parkinson's.
Now it is thought neuro deterioration occurs in response to stress on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) - part of the outer skin of the cell - rather than failure of the mitochondria as previously thought.
During the study fruit flies were injected with chemicals to prevent the effects of ER stress and as a result, it prevented the death of neurons which are commonly associated with the disease.
Dr Miguel Martins said: "This research challenges the current held belief that Parkinson's disease is a result of malfunctioning mitochondria.
"By identifying and preventing ER stress in a model of the disease it was possible for us to prevent neurodegeneration.
"Lab experiments, like this, allow us to see what effect ER stress has on Parkinson's disease.
"While the finding so far only applies to fruit flies, we believe further research could find that a similar intervention in people might help treat certain forms of Parkinson's."
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Leicester's MRC Toxicology unit in Leicester carried out the experiment.
They used "mutant" fruit flies to test the chemicals as the bug is a good 'mirror' of the human body.
To find out if ER stress might be at play in Parkinson's, scientists analysed fruit flies with mutant forms of the pink1 or parkin genes.
These genes are also mutated in humans and result in hereditary versions of the disease causing shaking, trembling and difficulty walking.
Much like Parkinson's patients, flies with either mutation move more slowly and have weakened muscles.
The insects struggle to fly and they lose dopaminergic neurons in their brains - a classic feature of Parkinson's.
Researchers also found that the mutants experienced large amounts of ER stress and did not manufacture proteins as quickly as the non-mutants.
They were able to prevent neurodegeneration in mutant flies not only by reducing mitofusin, but also with chemicals that block the effects of ER stress.
The study was in the journal Cell Death and Disease.