The Parkinson’s disease risk gene cathepsin B promotes fibrillar alpha-synuclein clearance, lysosomal function and glucocerebrosidase activity in dopaminergic neurons

Variants in the CTSB gene encoding the lysosomal hydrolase cathepsin B (catB) are associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, neither the specific CTSB variants driving these associations…

Nuclear pore and nucleocytoplasmic transport impairment in oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration: relevance to molecular mechanisms in Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s and other related neurodegenerative diseases

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are embedded in the nuclear envelope and facilitate the exchange of macromolecules between the nucleus and cytoplasm in eukaryotic cells. The dysfunction of the NPC and nuclear tr…

[Review] Multiple system atrophy: advances in pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment

Multiple system atrophy is an adult-onset, sporadic, and progressive neurodegenerative disease. People with this disorder report a wide range of motor and non-motor symptoms. Overlap in the clinical presentation of multiple system atrophy with other movement disorders (eg, Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy) is a concern for accurate and timely diagnosis. Over the past… Continue reading [Review] Multiple system atrophy: advances in pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment

[In Context] 200 years since the death of James Parkinson

When James Parkinson wrote An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, he had already started to reduce his medical practice and hand it over to his son John William Keys Parkinson, also a surgeon, in the hopeful expectation that he would be able to devote more time to his passion for geology and fossil collecting. 6… Continue reading [In Context] 200 years since the death of James Parkinson

[Comment] A new seed amplification assay to diagnose multiple system atrophy

Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy are both characterised by the pathological accumulation of misfolded α-synuclein protein (thereby, both conditions are referred to as α-synucleinopathies). Compared with Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy is more aggressive, rapidly progressing, and fatal neurodegenerative condition driven by both glial and neuronal pathology.1 Differentiating between Parkinson’s disease and multiple system… Continue reading [Comment] A new seed amplification assay to diagnose multiple system atrophy