Biologists determine genetics in neurological disease

Toxic proteins created by faulty RNA have been found to contribute to a range of neurodegenerative disorders in humans.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated that damaged RNA responsible for the toxic polyglutamine protein associated with neurological diseases such as Huntington's, assists in development of polyglutamine repeat diseases in fruit fly models.

Professor Nancy Bonini commented: "The challenge for many researchers is coupling the power of a simple genetic model, in this case the fruit fly, to the enormous problem of human neurodegenerative disease.

"By recreating in the fly various human diseases, we have found that, while the mutated protein is a toxic entity, toxicity is also going on at the RNA level to contribute to the disease."

Anti-aging physicians recognise this family of progressive neurodegenerative conditions as diseases associated with the aging process. Experts suggest that it is possible to correlate the severity of disease in a patient with their age at the onset of symptoms.