To the Editor Espay and Okun recently proposed abandoning the proteinopathy paradigm in Parkinson disease (PD) in favor of a “proteinopenia” hypothesis. Loss of function as a possible mechanism for PD and other neurodegenerative diseases is not a new idea, and we agree that multiple potential mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration should be investigated. Although their theory… Continue reading Abandoning the Proteinopathy Paradigm in Parkinson Disease—Not So fast
Tag: Protein Structure and Function
Brady Weissbourd named Klingenstein-Simons Fellow
AI SummaryThe text discusses how MIT Assistant Professor Brady Weissbourd has received a Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award to study the neuron-manufacturing abilities of the Clytia hemisphaerica jellyfish and how it builds and rebuilds its nervous system. Weissbourd’s research aims to understand how the jellyfish produces newborn neurons, organizes its neural network, and recovers from the destruction… Continue reading Brady Weissbourd named Klingenstein-Simons Fellow
How Tau tangles form in the brain
AI SummaryMIT chemists have gained insight into how tangled proteins called Tau fibrils form in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. They discovered that the flexibility of one segment of the Tau protein helps the fibrils take on different shapes and that fibrils are more likely to form when the ends of the Tau protein are… Continue reading How Tau tangles form in the brain
A new peptide may hold potential as an Alzheimer’s treatment
AI SummaryMIT neuroscientists have discovered a peptide that can reverse neurodegeneration and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease by interfering with an enzyme called CDK5 that is overactive in Alzheimer’s patients. In mice, the peptide led to reductions in neurodegeneration, DNA damage, and improvements in cognitive abilities, leading researchers to believe it could serve as a… Continue reading A new peptide may hold potential as an Alzheimer’s treatment
New technologies reveal cross-cutting breakdowns in Alzheimer’s disease
After decades of fundamental scientific and drug discovery research, Alzheimer’s disease has remained inscrutable and incurable, with a bare minimum of therapeutic progress. But in a new review article in Nature Neuroscience, MIT scientists write that by employing the new research capability of single-cell profiling, the field has rapidly achieved long-sought insights with strong potential for both… Continue reading New technologies reveal cross-cutting breakdowns in Alzheimer’s disease