Zebrafish model to understand Parkinson’s developed

The model has been developed by the scientists to particularly understand the mechanism of the Parkinson’s disease caused by LRRK2 mutations, a gene that is also present in zebrafish.

The team of researchers headed by Dr Liu Jianjun from the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, initiated the study that aimed to develop a better understanding about occurrence of Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s disease is a condition in which the brain degenerates and hampers motor skills, speech, movement and other nerve functions of the body.

Study details
For the present research, the scientists from GIS examined the LRRK2 gene in zebrafish, which is a tropical freshwater fish species, by blocking the regular working of the gene.

The scientists observed that jamming the normal functioning of the gene caused Parkinson-like phenotypes in the zebrafish that also included locomotive failings and loss of neurons, just like the symptoms in Parkinson’s affected people.

It was also found that with normal expression of the LRRK2 protein, the locomotive or motor defects could be prevented. Levo-dopa or L-dopa compound used commonly to cure Parkinson’s disease could also help in preventing the motor defects.

Discovery of gene mutations in affecting patients having Parkinson’s disease also hinted at association of genetic factors in the development of the disease.

“This work shows how the use of a simple model system in fish can help decipher the root causes of a serious human disorder like Parkinson's disease,” says Professor Edison Liu, executive director of GIS.

The findings of the new research have been detailed in the April 22 edition of ‘PLoS Genetics.’

Decaf coffee and nicotine-free tobacco protect from Parkinson's
Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle have recently recognized a compound found in both decaffeinated and normal coffee called ‘cafestol’ that had neuro-protective effects on Parkinson’s.

Leo Pallanck, a neuroscientist and lead-author of the research says, “We think that there's something else in coffee and tobacco that's really important. A lot of the field has gravitated to the idea that it's caffeine and nicotine.”

“We didn't see any protective effects at all of caffeine and nicotine,” he observed and added that decaf coffee and nicotine free cigarettes helped in preventing Parkinson’s.

The researchers were optimistic about usage of this compound in protecting people from Parkinson’s.