The specific subset of brain cadre that break down off in patients withParkinson ’s diseasehas been identify , thus solving one of the heavy mystery surrounding the disorder . Presenting their enquiry in the journalNature Neuroscience , the study authors say their findings could direct to the development of raw treatments that aim these vulnerable neurons .
The degradation ofdopamine neuronswithin a brainiac area called the substantia nigra pars compacta ( SNpc ) is a major assay-mark of Parkinson ’s disease and other forms of dementedness . Because dopamine help regulate mood , cognition , and motor control , the loss of these cells often conduce tosymptomsincluding tremors , depression , and cognitive decline .
However , not all of the dopamine neuron in the SNpc are affected , with some dying off in the early stages of the disease while others remain entire . To translate why this is the case , the study authors looked at a sum of 22,048 learning ability cells from 10 deceased Parkinson ’s and dementia patients and eight people who died without any cognitive disorder .
After measure out patterns of factor expression within these cellular telephone , they find that there are in fact 10 discrete subpopulations of Intropin neurons within the SNcp , distinguishable by their unique transcriptional profile . One of these groups was preponderantly localized on the ventral part – or underside – of the SNcp , which matches previously key out patterns of neural decadency in dementedness .
Sure enough , when the research worker looked at the brains of their late survey participants , they found that this chemical group of neurons was for the most part missing from the Parkinson ’s and dementia sufferer . A more elaborate analysis of these cells uncover an upregulation of genes that are powerfully implicated in cubicle dying processes , suggesting that these neurons may be the first to become damage in individuals with neurodegenerative conditions .
The smoke gun was then confirm when the authors noted that this particular subset of neurons contained the highest reflection ofgenesassociated with the risk of modernize Parkinson ’s disease . Taken together , these observations appear to suggest that this mathematical group of nerve cell is specially vulnerable to devolution in hoi polloi with a genetic susceptibleness to the illness , and that the loss of these cell may be predominantly responsible for for many of the symptoms associated with the condition .
The study authors , therefore , call for future research to focalise specifically on this subpopulation of cells , evoke that they may hold the keystone to treating Parkinson ’s disease .
