Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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New Details on Parkinson Gene Outlined
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WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDayNews) -- New information about how mutations occur in the parkin gene and how that leads to Parkinson''s disease is outlined in a Canadian study in the current issue of Neuron. The finding could help in the development of new drugs to treat Parkinson''s disease. Researchers already knew that mutations in the parkin gene -- which is part of the "garbage disposal" system in cells -- is a major cause of Parkinson''s. This new study found that a protein produced by a gene called BAG5 inhibits parkin activity and another protein, Hsp70, that works with parkin. In research with rats, the Toronto scientists found that BAG5 increases the death of neurons targeted by Parkinson''s. They also found that inhibiting BAG5 reduces the death of those neurons. Parkin is part of the system that rids cells of unwanted proteins. When it''s mutated, it loses its ability to carry out its assigned task of chemically designating these unwanted proteins for destruction. That results in these "garbage" proteins forming deadly clumps in brain cells. "Based on our findings, we propose a novel mechanism for neurodegeneration in which BAG5 interacts with both parkin and Hsp70, resulting in decreased parkin and Hsp70 function, two outcomes that are deleterious to cell survival," the researchers wrote. Those findings indicate that BAG5 may prove a useful target for development of new drugs to treat Parkinson''s and other neurodegenerative diseases. More information We Move has more about Parkinson''s disease.
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