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Category: Synaptic dysfunction

Blog posts discussing synaptic dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease

Do Neurons Die in Parkinson’s Disease Because They Lack Trophic Support?

Do Neurons Die in Parkinson’s Disease Because They Lack Trophic Support?

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Lipids are in the news again, with a recently published hypothesis proposing that age-dependent decreases in GM1 ganglioside can trigger Parkinson’s disease.(1) Forsayeth and Hadaczek describe parkinsonian-like neurodegeneration in humans and animals with mutations in ganglioside metabolic pathways. In their view, the age-related loss of GM1 prevents glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) from signaling and, without this trophic support, selected catecholaminergic neurons die. Gangliosides are lipids that consist of carbohydrates with a 9-carbon backbone and a carboxylic acid group. They…

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Synaptic Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease: The Chicken or the Egg?

Synaptic Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease: The Chicken or the Egg?

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Figuring out what happens first in Parkinson’s disease is a difficult task. People are not usually diagnosed until they experience motor symptoms, at which point 70-80% of their nigrostriatal dopamine neurons have already died. This makes it hard to trace the sequence of events that leads to neuronal degeneration.