The ‘Zombie’ at the Heart of Parkinson’s?

Neurons that Parkinson’s disease affects can shut down without fully dying, according to new research.

In conditions like Parkinson’s disease, a specific group of neurons start to perish one by one, causing movement problems and other symptoms. Scientists have long focused on finding out why these neurons die. The new research shows that they might not even be dead.

These undead neurons, the team found, release chemicals that switch off their otherwise healthy neighbors as well, leading to the stuttering and halting effects seen in Parkinson’s patients.

The findings suggest that future drugs aimed at halting this cell-inactivation process may help prevent the disease or slow its progression.