Newly discovered trigger of Parkinson's upends common beliefs

A new study challenges a common belief in what triggers Parkinson's disease. Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons is widely accepted as the first event that leads to Parkinson's. But the new study suggests that a dysfunction in the neuron's synapses leads to deficits in dopamine and precedes the neurodegeneration. The findings open a new avenue for therapies in which drugs target neuron synapses before neurons degenerate.

A new study challenges a common belief in what triggers Parkinson's disease. Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons is widely accepted as the first event that leads to Parkinson's. But the new study suggests that a dysfunction in the neuron's synapses leads to deficits in dopamine and precedes the neurodegeneration. The findings open a new avenue for therapies in which drugs target neuron synapses before neurons degenerate.

Read more https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230915163328.htm