Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia are two serious brain diseases that affect millions of people in the United States and around the world.
These diseases damage the brain, causing problems with movement, memory, and thinking. People with Parkinson’s often have shaking hands, stiff muscles, slow movement, and balance problems.
People with Lewy Body Dementia may also have confusion, memory loss, and trouble with daily tasks. These problems usually get worse over time, making life very hard for patients and their families.
Scientists have been working for many years to understand these brain conditions better and to find new ways to treat them. A group of researchers at Scripps Research has now made an important discovery that may help slow down the progress of these diseases.
The key to both Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia is a tiny protein called alpha-synuclein. In a healthy brain, the body has a cleaning system that removes proteins that are no longer needed.
But in people with these diseases, alpha-synuclein proteins start to stick together and form clumps. These clumps harm brain cells and can even move from one cell to another, spreading the damage. This is why symptoms keep getting worse over time.
There is another protein in the body called p62. Its job is to help clean up unwanted or harmful proteins like alpha-synuclein. You can think of p62 as a cleaner that takes the trash out of brain cells.
When p62 is doing its job, brain cells stay healthier for longer. But the researchers found that in people with Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia, p62 doesn’t work the way it should.
The reason for this is something called S-nitrosylation, a process that changes the shape of the p62 protein. This change is caused by high levels of nitrogen-based molecules in the brain, including one called nitric oxide. When this happens, p62 can’t do its job anymore. As a result, alpha-synuclein keeps building up in the brain, damaging more and more brain cells.
This discovery is important because it shows a new way that scientists might be able to fight these diseases. If future medicines can stop the chemical change that damages p62, they might be able to keep the brain cleaner and healthier. That would help slow down or even stop the spread of brain cell damage.
The researchers are also exploring whether common vitamins like vitamin E and vitamin D could help. These vitamins are already known to support brain health, and they might help protect p62 from being damaged. If they work, these simple vitamins could become part of a treatment plan to help people with Parkinson’s or Lewy Body Dementia.
While scientists have not found a cure yet, this new research gives hope. By learning more about what goes wrong in the brain, they are getting closer to finding better treatments. This could lead to new medicines that slow down the disease and make life better for people who are affected.
If you care about Parkinson’s disease, please read studies that Vitamin B may slow down cognitive decline, and Mediterranean diet could help lower risk of Parkinson’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that blueberry supplements may prevent cognitive decline, and results showing Plant-based diets could protect cognitive health from air pollution.
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