An ingredient to stop effects of Parkinson’s

The active ingredient, kinetin, in an over-thecounter skin cream may slow or stop the effects of Parkinson's disease on brain cells, scientists have found.      Parkinson's is a degenerative disease that causes the death of neurons in the brain. Initially, it affects one's movements and causes tremors, difficulty in walking and slurred speech. Later stages can cause dementia and other health problems. "Kinetin is a great molecule to pursue because it's already sold in drugstores as a topical antiwrinkle cream," said investigator Kevan Shokat.      In 2004, researchers studying an Italian family with a high prevalence of early-onset Parkinson's disease discovered mutations in a protein called PINK1 associated with the inherited form of the disease.      Since then, studies have shown that PINK1 normally wedges into the membrane of damaged mitochondria inside cells that causes another protein, Parkin, to be recruited to the mitochondria, which are organelles responsible for energy generation.  Neurons require high levels of energy production, therefore when mitochondrial damage occurs, it can lead to neuronal death. However, when Parkin is present on damaged mitochondria, studding the mitochondrial surface, the cell is able to survive the damage.      In people who inherit mutations in PINK1, however, Parkin is never recruited to the organelles, leading to more frequent neuronal death than usual. Researchers wanted to develop a way to turn on or crank up PINK1 activity, and prevent an excess of cell death, in those with inherited Parkinson's disease.  Researchers began investigating how PINK1 binds to ATP, the energy molecule that normally turns it on. PTI