Parkinson’s Disease

• Context (TH): A recent study found that balancing two forms of Synuclein alpha (SNCA) protein could help manage Parkinson’s disease.
• Synuclein alpha (SNCA) is known for its involvement in age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
• SNCA is abundant in neurons, especially in dopaminergic neurons.
• It is found near the nuclei of these cells and at the junctions between two neurons. It’s capable of misfolding as well as forming filamentous structures.
• SNCA is present in two ways as aggregates in cells: one that interferes with the structural integrity of cells’ nuclei and another that allows the cell to degrade misfolded proteins. The researchers found that the former are related to diseased states while the latter is important for healthy cells.
• Striking a balance between the two SNCA populations to manage Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease researchers are focused on reducing the prevalence of SNCA in neurons as a therapeutic measure.

Parkinson’s Disease

• Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a movement disorder of the nervous system that gets worse over time (it is a degenerative disease).
• People with this disease lose neurons that communicate with each other using dopamine as a neurotransmitter in a part of their brains. These dopaminergic neurons have been found to contain aggregated masses of proteins called Lewy bodies. Most of these proteins are SNCA.

Credit: Medindia

• The cause of PD is unknown, but people with a family history of the disease have a higher risk. Exposure to air pollution, pesticides and solvents may increase risk.
• The disease usually occurs in older people, but younger people can also be affected. Men are affected more often than women.
• Symptoms: Slow and involuntary movement, tremors, rigidity, dementia, sleep disorders, cognitive impairment, etc. The symptoms typically begin on one side of the body. However, the disease eventually affects both sides, although symptoms are often less severe on one side than on the other.
• Parkinson’s disease is not contagious. Currently, there is no cure for PD.