American and French researchers just discovered that neurodegenerative diseases have one thing in common – the structure of their proteins.
Diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s are characterized by a protein deposit that accumulates in brain tissue and causes irreversible damage.
Attempts are currently being made to obtain a 3D picture of the atomic structure of these deposits in order to understand how they work.
With the discovery of something in common between these neurodegenerative diseases, researchers hope to gain a better understanding of these diseases and also better diagnose the risk of developing the disease.
Researchers also hope that this leads to the creation of new drugs that would slow the formation of such deposits in tissue.