New discoveries place lack of energy at the basis of Parkinson's disease

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Mar-2014

Contact: Kris Van der Beken kris.vanderbeken@vib.be 32-924-46611 VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)

Neuroscientists Vanessa Moras and Bart De Strooper from VIB and KU Leuven have demonstrated how a defect in the gene Pink1 results in Parkinson's disease. By mapping this process at a molecular level, they have provided the ultimate proof that a deficient energy production process in cells can result in Parkinson's disease. These insights are so revolutionary that they have been published in the leading journal Science.

Vanessa Moras (VIB/KU Leuven):

"Having Parkinson's disease means that you can no longer tell your own body what to do. The hope of finding a solution to this has stimulated me for many years to unravel what goes wrong in the cells of Parkinson's patients. This research is an important step forwards."

Bart De Strooper (VIB/KU Leuven):

"Parkinson's disease is one of the research focuses in our department. It gives great satisfaction that we have unraveled a molecular process responsible for the faulty energy production process in cells of Parkinson's patients. This confirms our belief that repairing the energy production in cells is a possible therapeutic strategy."

Faulty energy production forms the basis of Parkinson's disease.

Mitochondria are cell components that produce the energy required by a cell to function. The action of these mitochondria and therefore the energy production in cells is disrupted in Parkinson's disease. The exact mechanism was unknown. In recent years, scientists have described various gene defects (mutations) in Parkinson's patients that result in decreased activity of the mitochondria, including a mutation in the Pink1 gene.

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New discoveries place lack of energy at the basis of Parkinson's disease