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Study
Offers Proof of
Alzheimer-Parkinson Link
Excerpt
By Merritt McKinney, Reuters Health
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Results of a new study provide evidence
supporting a possible link between Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's
disease.
The potential
connection suggests that experimental drugs designed to target
Alzheimer-linked brain deposits might be effective against more
types of neurological diseases than expected, one of the study's
authors told Reuters Health.
Both Parkinson's
and Alzheimer's are progressive neurological diseases, but the
illnesses cause distinct symptoms. Parkinson's disease causes
tremor, muscle rigidity and movement problems. In contrast, Alzheimer's
leads to a gradual decline in mental abilities.
However, symptoms
of both diseases sometimes occur in the same person, raising the
possibility that the diseases are linked, Dr. Eliezer Masliah,
of the University of California, San Diego, explained to Reuters
Health in an interview.
In collaboration
with Dr. Lennart Mucke at the University of California, San Francisco,
Masliah and his team genetically engineered several strains of
mice to look for signs of a connection between the two diseases.
One strain
was engineered to accumulate beta-amyloid proteins in the brain,
which have been linked to Alzheimer's disease. Another strain
produced alpha-synuclein, a protein that builds up in the brain
of Parkinson's patients. A third group of mice accumulated both
types of proteins.
Mice that
had beta-amyloid and alpha-synuclein proteins developed symptoms
typical of a type of Alzheimer's disease marked by brain deposits
called Lewy bodies. The ability of these mice to learn deteriorated
more rapidly than in mice that did not have alpha-synuclein proteins.
Having both
types of brain proteins also sped the Parkinson's disease process.
Mice with both types of proteins developed movement problems sooner
than animals that only had alpha-synuclein proteins.
The findings
appear in the online Early Edition of the journal Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
``This is
the very first time that we were able to demonstrate experimentally
that Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are linked mechanistically,''
Masliah said.
The presence
of both diseases in some patients is not just a coincidence, he
added.
The proof
of the connection between the diseases could have ''important
therapeutic consequences,'' according to Masliah.
``If amyloid-beta
protein is driving the Parkinson's pathology, if we block the
amyloid, we might be able to block the Parkinson's disease,''
he said.
This would
allow doctors ``to kill two birds with one shot,'' according to
the California researcher. He noted that several amyloid-blocking
drugs are in the early stages of development.
Right now,
Masliah and his colleagues are continuing to investigate the connection
between the two diseases. They are also conducting animal research
to see whether blocking amyloids also prevents the development
of Parkinson's symptoms, he said.
SOURCE:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2001;10.1073.
Reference
Source 89
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