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Putting a PARKINg brake on neurodegeneration

Molecular Psychiatry volume 9, pages 6–7 (2004)Cite this article

Mutations in the parkin gene are associated with the juvenile-onset form of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent studies suggest that Parkin plays a central role in a cellular pathway that provides neuroprotective function. Manipulating Parkin activity may prevent neurodegeneration in juvenile onset as well as more common sporadic forms of PD.

Not long ago, neurodegenerative diseases were considered the most obscure and intractable disorders affecting the human brain. The situation has changed rapidly, thanks in a large part to breakthroughs in human genetics that help pinpoint genes associated with familial forms of those diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and PD. PD is the most common movement disorder and the second most common neurodegenerative diseases. PD patients suffer from rigidity, resting tremor, and slowness of movement. The movement disorder is largely attributed to the deficiency of brain dopamine contents resulting from the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain.

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  1. Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

    Bingwei Lu

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  1. Bingwei Lu
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Correspondence to Bingwei Lu.

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Lu, B. Putting a PARKINg brake on neurodegeneration. Mol Psychiatry 9, 6–7 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001417

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