The most devastating aspect of Parkinson's disease may not be its debilitating symptoms, which rob its victims of their ability to control their own movement. It may not be the millions around the world and their families who suffer each day from the disease's harmful effects. Instead, it may in fact be that its root causes remain largely a mystery. But now, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered how the interplay between two proteins in the brain fuels the degradation and death of the class of brain cells, or neurons, that leads to Parkinson's. These findings, which stand in stark contrast to conventional wisdom, lay much-needed groundwork for developing treatments that target the disease's elusive underlying mechanisms.
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