Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

common cause

Erick G. RodríguezBiol.3009

Problem:

What causes patients having Alzheimer's disease to exhibit

signs of Parkinson's disease and vice versa?

Hipothesis:

There is a common cause for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Objectives:

Find how neurons degenerate in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, consequently leading to a better understanding of a common cause between these two diseases.

Background:

Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson’s disease:

The most common progressive neurologic diseases

Irreversible loss of neurons in various areas of the brain

Caused by the accumulation of proteins Incurable

Alzheimer's disease

Parkinson's disease

Protein aggregates accumulate, killing the neurons in the midbrain that release dopamine at synapses in the basal nuclei.

Lewy bodies and Lewy neurities are made of ubiquitin and α-synuclein.

α-synuclein is found naturally in the brain and controls communication between neurons in the brain

•visual

•auditory systems

•eye movement

•body movement

HOPES. (2004). The HOPES Brain Tutorial. Available: http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/basics/braintut/ab3.html. Last accessed 29 Jun 2009.

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Link

Many patients have symptoms of both diseases.

Eliezer Masliah at the University of California, San Diego β-amyloid and α-synuclein are active proteins in

both diseases this two proteins work together to create a

hybrid protein with a small hole called a nanopore that alters neuronal activity

β-amyloid promote α-synuclein aggregation

Tsigelny I., Crews L., Desplats P., Shaked G., Sharikov Y., Mizuno H., Spencer B., Rockenstein E., Trejo M., Platoshyn O., Yuan J., Masliah E.. (2008). Mechanisms of Hybrid Oligomer Formation in the Pathogenesis of Combined Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases. Available: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003135. Last accessed 27 Jun 2009.

Methodology:

Molecular modeling

“In vitro” experimentation to create the hybrid protein Insert hybrid protein into the brains of live mice

“In vivo” experimentation to see its effects in the mice and compare effects with control mice.

Controls• Control will be mice that have Alzheimer’s

disease, mice that have Parkinson’s disease and healty mice that doesn’t have any link with this two diseases.

• Make post mortem examination of the mice brains

• Immunohistochemistry

Future plans:

Discover new and better therapies for both diseases.

Find inhibitor for the enzymes that produce β-amyloid and α-synuclein proteins

Discover new tools for diagnosing these diseases

References:

• Campbell, N. and Reece, J. (2008). Biology. 8th ed. United States: Pearson Benjamin Cummings. 1082-1083.

• Tsigelny I., Crews L., Desplats P., Shaked G., Sharikov Y., Mizuno H., Spencer B., Rockenstein E., Trejo M., Platoshyn O., Yuan J., Masliah E.. (2008). Mechanisms of Hybrid Oligomer Formation in the Pathogenesis of Combined Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases. Available: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003135. Last accessed 27 Jun 2009.