Study finds way to prevent protein clumping characteristic of Parkinson's disease

Hsp104 from yeast protects against alpha-synuclein toxicity in the rat brain. Red staining shows the levels of an enzyme involved in dopamine synthesis in the region of the rat brain most affected in Parkinson's disease (controls, left top and bottom). Rats were injected with viruses expressing alpha-synuclein & YFP (right top) or alpha-synuclein and Hsp104 (right bottom). Note the increased survival of dopamine-producing neurons in the rat brain injected with Hsp104 (right bottom) compared to rat brain without Hsp104 (right top). Credit: James Shorter, PhD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation