Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder
which affects movement. Sometimes, it starts with a just noticeable tremor in
one hand, but gradually worsens over time. Although tremors are most common
amongst those with PD, the disorder can also cause stiffness or slow movement.
A PD patient may also show little to no facial expression as well slurred
speech. All symptoms continue to develop and worsen over time.
In “Calcium, Cellular
Aging, and Selective Neuronal Vulnerability in Parkinson’s Disease”, D.
James Surmeier, Jaime N. Guzman, and Javier Sanchez-Padilla’s area of focus was
on dopaminergenic neurons of the Substantia nigra. They hypothesized that a
major cause for the death of these cells is due to stress from the sustained
calcium entry which compromises oxidative defenses. They indicated that these
neurons contain a pacemaking phenotype that may contribute to their
vulnerability to oxidative damage. Their work has specified that PD prevention
should focus on decreasing calcium concentrations through antagonists.
The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University has
conducted research surrounding this focus on Calcium in mitochondrial stress.
Abnormalities in mitochondrial function occur in cardiovascular diseases, such
as heart attacks, as well in neuromuscular diseases, like PD. There, Dr. Madesh
and his colleagues describe the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) and report a
“grasp” region. This region binds both calcium and magnesium ions, and
interactions of these ions cause the gateway inside the mitochondrial matrix to
close. Their research discovered that uptake of calcium in mitochondria can be
prevented if they are bathed in magnesium. By identifying that MCU directly
controls the activity of calcium within mitochondria, it can be useful
in PD research by testing magnesium’s ability to block those calcium channels.
Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/basics/definition/con-20028488
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2016/08/26/temple.scientists.discover.structural.clues.calcium.regulation.cells
https://luc.app.box.com/v/neuroscienceseminar/1/5783518889/93009542353/1
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