throughout the nervous system) in these regions.
What we didn’ t know, though, was the underlying mechanisms that result in different outcomes for different people. Today, we’ re increasingly learning about the range of factors within the body that shape how people experience Parkinson’ s disease. We now believe that some forms of the disease might be more closely linked to a breakdown in our cells’ ability to recycle
Brian Fiske, PhD or get rid of old protein; other forms may be linked to issues maintaining healthy mitochondria, the batteries of the cell that generate the energy cells need to survive and function. We also think that some aspects of Parkinson’ s might be impacted by inflammation or other immune system challenges.
We’ re still learning about these and other possible changes, as well as how they may interact with each other and shape the way Parkinson’ s disease develops. As these insights emerge, we see a future with tests available to detect these biological factors— and tailored treatments to target them.
As we improve how we define Parkinson’ s, what are we learning about overlap with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’ s?
Just last year, researchers gained the first biological confirmation of the long-suspected overlap between PD and Alzheimer’ s disease( AD), finding that roughly 25 percent of people who test positive for tau and beta-amyloid— the dysfunctional proteins associated with AD— also test positive for alpha-synuclein. Research shows individuals with evidence of AD and PD disease processes in the brain may experience faster worsening of thinking and memory
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