Link between sugar metabolism and Parkinson’s disease

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - In brief: Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, but we still do not understand why this disease occurs. Scientists from the UCLouvain de Duve Institute have discovered a new type of molecular damage that is (glycolysis). They also discovered a mechanism that allows cells to prevent this type of damage. A deficiency in this mechanism leads to the accumulation of damage and Parkinson's disease. Understanding the molecular origin of Parkinson's disease might help develop therapies that treat not only the symptoms but also the cause of the disease. A UCLouvain de Duve Institute research team , led by Prof. Guido Bommer , has just discovered the role of an enzyme - Park7 - which is inactive in some patients with Parkinson's disease : this enzyme prevents cellular damage caused by the metabolism of sugars in glycolysis, the main pathway of this metabolism. They suspect that this type of damage represents one of the first steps in the development of the disease .