What you need to know about Parkinson's

CAMILLA FOSTER LOOKS AT THE OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD DISEASE

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CARE: Patients' quality of life must be supported

EXCITEMENT is building following the development of a technique that enables scientists to detect tiny clusters in the brain which are believed to trigger Parkinson's disease.

One of the defining features of Parkinson's is the presence of abnormal protein clumps in the brain known as Lewy bodies. However, some scientists believe these larger clumps originate from much smaller, toxic groupings called alpha-synuclein oligomers.

Now, researchers have created a method called Advanced Sensing of Aggregates for Parkinson's Disease (ASA-PD), which uses ultrasensitive fluorescence microscopy to visualise the clusters for the first time.

Researchers hope that this will help them learn more about how the disease develops and potentially pave the way for new treatments.

Here are eight things everybody should know about Parkinson's...