For Part 2: http://dialoguewithdisability.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/gretchen-amphlet-parkinsons-uk-lecture_24.html
For Part 3 - http://dialoguewithdisability.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/gretchen-amphlet-parkinsons-uk-lecture_25.html
Conclusion – prospects for treatment
Identifying mutations is a crucial first step toward
new treatments for Parkinson’s. Understanding which genes are mutated in
sufferers and how the protein is affected leads to understanding how the
function of the cell is disrupted. Once this is known, drugs can be potentially
designed to counteract the affect of the mutant protein and prevent nerve cells
dieing. This could introduce the idea of “personalized medicine”; a specific
mutation is treated with a specific drug. Another possibility is that a group
of related diseases (e.g. neurodegenerative), although caused by mutations in
different genes, affect the same function of nerve cells. Therefore, drugs can
be designed to affect the specific cellular process more generally and not the
mutated protein itself.
These approaches are dependent on understanding the
genetics of Parkinson’s; it is crucial that such research is supported.
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