Communication Breakdown: What Happens to Nerve Cells in Parkinson's Disease

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0209200803.htm

ScienceDaily (Feb. 10, 2010) — A new study from The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -- The Neuro -- at McGill University is the first to discover a molecular link between Parkinson's disease and defects in the ability of nerve cells to communicate. The study, published in the journal Molecular Cell and selected as Editor's Choice in the journal Science, provides new insight into the mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease, and could lead to innovative new therapeutic strategies.

Parkinson's, a neurodegenerative disease affecting approximately 100,000 Canadians and over 4 million people worldwide, a number expected to double by the year 2030, causes muscle stiffness and tremor and prevents people from controlling their movements in a normal manner. The disease is characterized by the degeneration and death of dopamine neurons in specific regions of the brain, causing neurological impairment. It is not known exactly what causes the death of these neurons.