By: Sabrina X.
A recent breakthrough with Parkinson’s horrid stem cell has finally occurred. According to some scientists in Sweden, stem cells can be used to heal the damage in the brain caused by Parkinson’s disease.They say that when they used these stem cells on rats the results were effective and worked very well. Parkinson’s disease is created by the loss of nerve cells or when neurons get impaired or die. Usually neurons create dopamine, an important brain chemical. But when neurons or nerve cells get impaired or die less dopamine is produced. Shortage of dopamine causes problems of movement which causes the Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter or a chemical messenger, it is supposed to transmit signals from between multiple brain regions and the substantia nigra. The substantia nigra is a layer of large pigmented nerve cells in the midbrain that produce dopamine. Connection between substantia nigra and the corpus striatum is very important to produce smooth, purposeful movement. Corpus Striatum is a part of the motor control of the brain. Less dopamine in the circuit will cause impaired movement that makes abnormal nerve-firing patterns. Many of the brain cells of the people that have Parkinson’s disease contain Lewy Bodies. Lewy Bodies are usually clumps of alpha-synuclein (brain protein) along with other proteins. Clumps might prevent cells from functioning normally or they might help by keeping harmful stem cells “locked up” so the cells can function. The Parkinson’s Disease is deadly, but we might find a cure for it soon.
Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/parkinsons_disease_pictures_slideshow/article.htm
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