Scientists reveal the role of a protein in communication between nerve cells. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, in the United States of America.
A correlation was observed between increased electrical and chemical neural activity and an increase in the amount of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein in neurons. This protein is linked to a number of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and dementia associated with Lewy bodies. Recently there has been increased interest in developing drugs that inhibit alpha- synuclein phosphorylation in an attempt to treat these diseases.