Canberra, Nov 25 || Researchers in Australia have found that Parkinson's disease causes significant and progressive changes in the brain's blood vessels, changing the understanding of the disease, which may open up new treatment avenues.
While Parkinson's disease is characterised by alpha-synuclein protein deposits, this research has shifted understanding of the disease, demonstrating that region-specific changes to blood vessels in the brain underlie disease progression, Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) said in a media release on Tuesday.
"Traditionally, Parkinson's researchers have focused on protein accumulation and neuronal loss, but we have shown the impacts on our cerebrovasculature -- the blood vessels in our brain," said NeuRA postdoctoral student Derya Dik, who carried out the work.
"Our research identified region-specific changes in the brain's blood vessels, including an increased presence of string vessels, which are non-functional remnants of capillaries," Dik said.