Aid system for aging nerve cells

Research report (imported) 2007 - Max-Planck-Institut für Neurobiologie

Authors

Kramer, Edgar; Aron, Liviu; Schulz, Jörg; Klein, Rüdiger

Departments

Molekulare Neurobiologie (Klein) (Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Klein)
MPI für Neurobiologie, Martinsried

Summary

Parkinson disease is characterized by a massive loss of nerve cells in a specific brain region. It was shown that the Ret receptor, which is activated by the neurotrophic factor GDNF, is essential for the survival and regeneration of nerve cells in this brain region. These results advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms in the aging brain and may facilitate the development of new therapies for Parkinson disease.

For the full text, see the German version.