KU Leuven researchers unravel protein mystery of three brain diseases

Microscopic image of mouse neurons to which the patient-derived -synuclein protein was administered. The protein deposits ( green ) form after seven days. Microscopy by Anke Van der Perren - The accumulation of one particular protein in the brain is at the basis of three very different age-related conditions. Until recently, nobody understood how this was possible. Research by the Laboratory for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy now reveals that the shape of the protein determines the clinical picture. The presence of -synuclein protein deposits in the brain is characteristic for three different diseases: Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Although these disorders are part of the same family, they are clinically and pathologically very different.