Once again, it is looking like Lewy Bodies may not be the bad guy at all. This article isn't about PD but has many parallels and if this is true it could be a watershed in PD research. Usually, in autopsy it would explain why the extent of LB fibrils does not correlate to the clinical severity of PD. In other words, when alpha-synuclein aggregates is it a normal protective reaction of the brain gone amok?

Holding on to faulty protein delays brain degeneration

Cells have a backup system to deal with any misfolded proteins – they are destroyed by a bell-shaped enzyme called a proteasome, which pulls the proteins inside itself and breaks them down.

The finding goes against the idea that neurodegenerative disorders should be treated by clearing away misfolded proteins, rather than trying to rescue their function. "People normally think that protease isn't working hard enough," says Nico Dantuma at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, who was not involved in the study.

Stanford U is on a hot streak....

Laura