Biomedical scientists at KU Leuven have discovered that a defect in the ATP13A2 gene causes cell death by disrupting the cellular transport of polyamines. When this happens in the part of the brain that controls body movement, it can lead to Parkinson’s disease.
With more than six million patients around the world, Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. Around twenty genetic defects have already been linked to the disease, but for several of these genes, we don’t know what function they fulfil. ...
