Master gene may shed new light on lysosomal and neurodegenerative disorders
Thursday, May 26, 2011 - 13:30
in Health & Medicine
Cells, like ordinary households, produce "garbage" debris and dysfunctional elements that need disposal. When the mechanism for taking out this garbage fails, rare genetic diseases called lysosomal storage disorders (including Tay-Sachs, Batten and Fabry disease) can disable and even kill the children they affect. In adults, such failure leads to neurodegenerative diseases that occur later in life, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.