Overview

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by slow movements (bradykinesia), tremors, and rigidity caused by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra.

Characteristics

In many cases, the pathological feature is the appearance of Lewy bodies consisting of α-synuclein.
PD-related diseases include REM sleep behavior disorders that progress to PD, dementia with Lewy bodies, familial PD with no Lewy body pathology, multiple system atrophy in which non-dopaminergic neurons are also affected, and progressive supranuclear palsy.

All of these diseases are classified as neurodegenerative disorders and may overlap in symptoms and neuropathology, but they have different clinical courses.

Research status

Using iPS cells derived from PD patients with diverse genetic backgrounds, we have been able to reproduce neuropathological features such as α-synuclein accumulation and Lewy body-like structures and generate models that reproduce functional abnormalities in dopaminergic neurons, such as mitochondrial dysfunction.

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