Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases share common crucial feature
The finding potentially could explain the mechanism by which Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and other neurodegenerative diseases spread within the brain and disrupt normal brain functions. The finding also suggests that an effective treatment for one neurodegenerative disease might work for other neurodegenerative diseases as well. The study by senior author Edward Campbell, PhD, first author William Flavin, PhD, and colleagues is published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica . "A possible therapy would involve boosting a brain cell's ability to degrade a clump of proteins and damaged vesicles," Campbell said. "If we could do this in one disease, it's a good bet the therapy would be effective in the other two diseases." Neurodegenerative diseases are caused by the death of neurons and other cells in the brain, with different diseases affecting different regions of the brain. Alzheimer's destroys memory, while Parkinson...