Induced Pluripotent Cells Model Parkinson’s Neurons; Reveals New Mechanism of Disease
Published in Nature, a new study reveals a previously unknown mechanism of Parkinson’s disease. Lead author Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte and fellow researchers generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from patients with a known genetic mutation that predisposes to the development of this disease. After culturing several generations of neurons, the scientists observed that the cells’ nuclei were abnormally shaped. On the importance of this research, Scott Noggle commented that this type of disease modeling “brings to light a new avenue for trying to figure out the mechanism of Parkinson’s.”