Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that gets worse over time. It affects body movement and can cause shaking stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination.
In simple terms, it makes it harder for people to control their bodies. This disease mostly affects older people, especially those over 60 years old.
As people live longer these days, more people are getting Parkinson’s, which is a big problem for everyone, including doctors and nurses, families, and healthcare systems.
No Known Cure for Parkinson’s Disease
The sad part is, right now, there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. Doctors can only treat the symptoms, like shaking or stiffness.
That’s why it’s super important for scientists to learn more about this disease and find new ways to prevent it or detect it early.
Mattia Volta, a brain scientist at Eurac Research, explains that his team has found something that might help.
A New Discovery: The RIT2 Gene
Volta’s team found out that a gene called RIT2 might play a big role in Parkinson’s disease.
A gene is a piece of DNA that controls certain traits, like your eye color or whether you can roll your tongue.
In Parkinson’s disease, a protein called alpha-synuclein builds up in the brain and kills brain cells. Volta’s team discovered that the RIT2 gene can control the build-up of alpha-synuclein.
How They Found Out
First, the scientists increased the activity of the RIT2 gene in some cells. They noticed that when they did this, the build-up of alpha-synuclein decreased.
Then they did the opposite: they removed the RIT2 gene from other cells and saw that without the gene, the cells couldn’t control the alpha-synuclein protein anymore.
This part of the research was done in Bolzano, a city in Italy.
Meanwhile, other researchers in Canada did experiments with mice. They found that when they increased the activity of the RIT2 gene in the mice, it protected their brain cells from the harmful effects of alpha-synuclein.
What’s Next?
These findings are still new and the scientists are still learning more. Right now, they can only change the RIT2 gene’s activity at the genetic level, which is very complex.
But they’re hopeful that in the future, they can develop an easier way to change this gene’s activity. If they can figure out how to do this, it might lower the risk of getting Parkinson’s disease for many people.
Collaborative Efforts
This discovery was made by a team of scientists from Eurac Research’s Institute of Biomedicine in Italy and Laval University in Quebec City, Canada.
Julia Obergasteiger, a former doctoral student who now works at a Canadian university, played a significant role in the research.
The world of science is like a big team working together to solve problems and mysteries, and this discovery is an example of how scientists from different parts of the world can work together to fight diseases like Parkinson’s.
So even though we still have a lot to learn about Parkinson’s disease, discoveries like these give us hope for the future.
If you care about Parkinson’s disease, please read studies about Vitamin E that may help prevent Parkinson’s disease, and Vitamin D could benefit people with Parkinson’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about new way to treat Parkinson’s, and results showing flavonoid-rich foods could improve survival in Parkinson’s.
The study was published in npj Parkinson’s Disease.
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