Scientists on track for early diagnosis of neurological diseases
Possible treatments for fatal neurodegenerative diseases such as CJD, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's could result from University of Edinburgh research to find out how specific proteins cause deterioration in brain function. The scientists have discovered for the first time that protein 14-3-3 plays a key role in the development of certain brain diseases by binding to other brain proteins and causing them to malfunction. These findings, described by Professor Alastair Aitken, of the University of Edinburgh School of Biomedical Sciences in the journal Cell, could eventually lead to the development of gene therapy or drug treatments which would disable the harmful proteins. It is already known that