According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation,
up to 1 million Americans suffer from Parkinson's disease and around
60,000 people in the US are diagnosed with the condition every day,
emphasizing the importance of determining the triggers of this disease.
Co-author of the study Joan Bennett, of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, says the idea that fungus may play a part in causing illness stemmed from a personal experience of house flooding following Hurricane Katrina, which left her property infested with mold.
"I felt horrible - headaches, dizziness, nausea. I knew something about 'sick building syndrome' but until then I didn't believe in it. I didn't think it would be possible to breathe in enough mold spores to get sick," she says.
Bennett took samples of the mold and looked to determine the connection between the symptoms she experienced in her home and the fungus.
The fungus compound also caused reduced dopamine levels and dopamine neuron degeneration in the flies.
Further experiments in human cell lines revealed that the compound attacked two genes involved in the creation of dopamine - the human plasma membrane dopamine transporter (DAT) and the human VMAT ortholog (VMAT2).
The researchers note that previous studies have suggested the incidence of Parkinson's disease is on the increase in rural areas, and this is attributed to pesticide exposure.
But they say rural environments also have a great deal of mold and mushroom exposure, therefore the link between fungus and Parkinson's disease needs to be investigated further.
Arati Inamdar, also from the School of Environ.................... read more........... http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/268848.php
Co-author of the study Joan Bennett, of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, says the idea that fungus may play a part in causing illness stemmed from a personal experience of house flooding following Hurricane Katrina, which left her property infested with mold.
"I felt horrible - headaches, dizziness, nausea. I knew something about 'sick building syndrome' but until then I didn't believe in it. I didn't think it would be possible to breathe in enough mold spores to get sick," she says.
Bennett took samples of the mold and looked to determine the connection between the symptoms she experienced in her home and the fungus.
Fungus compound 'attacks dopamine genes'
When fruit flies were exposed to the fungus samples, it was found that the 1-octen-3-ol compound caused the flies to experience movement disorders similar to what they experience in certain pesticides.The fungus compound also caused reduced dopamine levels and dopamine neuron degeneration in the flies.
Further experiments in human cell lines revealed that the compound attacked two genes involved in the creation of dopamine - the human plasma membrane dopamine transporter (DAT) and the human VMAT ortholog (VMAT2).
The researchers note that previous studies have suggested the incidence of Parkinson's disease is on the increase in rural areas, and this is attributed to pesticide exposure.
But they say rural environments also have a great deal of mold and mushroom exposure, therefore the link between fungus and Parkinson's disease needs to be investigated further.
Arati Inamdar, also from the School of Environ.................... read more........... http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/268848.php
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