Cell disposal faults could contribute to Parkinson's, study finds
he research, led by academics at The University of Nottingham and published in the journal Cell Death and Disease , centres on problems with mitochondria -- the powerhouses which produce energy within a cell. The results support previous evidence that patients with Parkinson's Disease have faults with brain mitochondria which contributes to dysfunction and death within their neurons. Dr Lynn Bedford, in the University's School of Life Sciences, said: "The study highlights the importance of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) for healthy mitochondria . The UPS is like a waste disposal system that removes small unwanted proteins from inside cells. "If waste is not removed it will build up over time and become toxic, causing cells to go wrong and eventually die." Faults in this system may play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's because they are caused by the death of neurons -- the network through...