Aggressive immune system as a possible cause of Parkinson's

Is your own immune system responsible for Parkinson's disease??

Trembling, unsteady movements, stooping posture, expressionless faces - the severity of Parkinson's disease, formerly known as shaking, can often be seen at a glance. The exact causes of the disease are still considered insufficiently understood. A German research team has come a great deal closer to deciphering. They were able to show that Parkinson's disease immune system immune cells attack and kill the nerve cells of the midbrain.

A team of physicians from the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) has discovered in the immune system of those affected a possible cause of the disease. It is already known that in Parkinson's disease constantly nerve cells die in the brain. In particular, cells that produce the messenger dopamine are affected. The researchers were able to show that defense cells of the immune system, the so-called T cells, attack and destroy dopamine-producing nerve cells in the midbrain. The study results were recently published in the journal "Cell Stem Cell".

A German research team was able to demonstrate that immune system immune cells in Parkinson's patients attack and kill the nerve cells of the midbrain, which contributes significantly to the disease's development. (Image: rob3000 / fotolia.com)

Parkinson's - the movement disorders of the nervous system

Parkinson's disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases. In Germany, about 300,000 people are affected, more than four million worldwide. Affected suffer from slowed and delayed movements, frozen muscles, violent tremors and severe postural damage with increasingly bowed posture.

What was known about the genesis so far

So far, the lack of the messenger substance dopamine is considered to be the cause of the disease. This is released in the brain region Substantia nigra. In Parkinson's patients, dopamine-producing cells increasingly die. Due to the rapid death of the body are too few dopamine messengers available and it comes to the typical symptoms. The reasons for the premature cell death were so far unclear. At this point, the FAU scientists started.

The role of defense cells

The stem cell researchers Annika Sommer, Dr. Iryna Prots and Prof. Dr. med. Beate Winner and her team have made a groundbreaking discovery. In the midbrain of Parkinson's sufferers, they found unusually many immune system immune cells. These T cells can then be found in the brain when the immune system is active and attacks cells. The scientists found similarities to processes that show in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Killed by your own immune system?

In various tests on healthy persons suffering from Parkinson's disease, the research team was able to prove that the defense cells in the brain of Parkinson's sufferers kill a larger number of nerve cells than in healthy persons. A central role seems to play the so-called Th17 cells.

Soon healing for Parkinson's in sight?

Further tests give hope for a new active substance against the shaking palsy. Previously known antibodies can block the Th17 cells. These antibodies are already used in clinical everyday life against psoriasis. In laboratory tests, the experts were able to document how these antibodies could also largely prevent the death of the dopamine-producing nerve cells.

Important basis for future therapy options

"Our investigations have made it possible to clearly demonstrate that and how T cells are involved in the development of Parkinson's syndrome," explains Professor Dr. med. Beate Winner. From the point of view of the study team, this provides an important basis for new treatment options for Parkinson's disease. (Vb)