Stopping Parkinson’s disease and Multiple system atrophy. Are 'strains' the solution?

Abstract

Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy are neurological disorders affecting over 10 million people worldwide. The lack of treatments is primarily due to the complexity of these illnesses, the variability of symptomatology and the lack of diagnostic tests. In both conditions, toxic clumps of a protein called alpha-synuclein form in the brain. Previous research suggests that the building blocks of these clumps are the same but that the 3D structure can vary, giving rise to distinct alpha-synuclein 'strains' that uniquely affect the patient’s brain. We hypothesise that alpha-Synuclein strains are partly responsible for the varied symptoms in patients. Therefore future treatment must be tailored to the specific strain. My [group](https://www.dierikslab.com) develops techniques to characterise the strain and identify novel druggable targets. Ultimately the goal is to create strain-specific therapeutics that reduce the burden of alpha-synuclein clumps in these illnesses.