The findings are published in American Journal of Human Genetics. Through whole exome sequencing, researchers identified a link between a mutation in PARK2, a gene associated with early-onset Parkinson’s disease, and familial lung cancer. The researchers sequenced the exomes (protein coding region of the genome) of individuals from a family with multiple cases of lung cancer. They then studied the PARK2 gene in additional families affected by lung cancer…
source : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140506130437.htm
The achievement, published in a paper in this week’s early online edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell by a collaboration that included scientists from China, was enabled by the development of "humanized" laboratory mice that contained a functional human immune system capable of mounting a vigorous immune rejection of foreign cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. …
Need another good reason to go organic? According to data published in the journal Neurology, exposure to weed killer, solvents and pesticides increases people’s risk for Parkinson’s disease by 33 to 80 percent, Medical Daily reported. Researchers collected data from 104 studies from around the world to analyze how pesticides, insecticides, weed killers, and many other agricultural chemicals influenced an individual’s risk for Parkinson’s disease. Though researchers found links between many chemicals and Parkinson’s, they found no link between Parkinson’s and the chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), which has been banned in the United States for decades, Medical Daily reported. However, people who were exposed to the weed killer paraquat or the fungicides maneb and mancozeb had a two-fold greater risk for contracting the disease. Additionally, researchers showed a direct link between the length of time people were exposed to pesticides and their likelihood of contracting Parkinson’s. The data also indicated that agricultural workers had a 33 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than people who didn’t work in agriculture.  The study did not distinguish between people who came in contact with pesticides through their skin or through breathing the chemicals. Parkinson's disease is a neurological condition, characterized by a decrease of the brain’s ability to produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, which ultimately leads to tremors and a decrease in motor control.  Treatment options for Parkinson’s patients are limited. Click for more from Medical Daily.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/28/pesticide-exposure-tied-to-parkinsons-disease/
A drug currently being used to treat leukemia has been found to help halt the production of toxic proteins in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and various forms of dementia. Researchers from Georgetown University successfully used small doses of the drug nilotinib, used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), to eliminate abnormal protein build-up in the brains of mice. The scientists targeted the alpha-Synuclein and tau proteins, which have been previously implicated in the development of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington’s disease, Lewy body dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions. …