Researchers identify link between birth defect, neurodegenerative diseases
The findings will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . "These results were really surprising," said the study's lead author, Zhiyong Zhao , PhD, a researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM). "The association suggests that these disparate diseases may have more in common than we previously realized." The researchers on the article also include UM SOM Dean E. Albert Reece. Neural tube defects occur when misfolded proteins accumulate in the cells of the developing nervous system. The misfolded proteins form insoluble clumps and cause widespread cell death, eventually leading to birth defects. Protein clumps also play a major role in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. In Alzheimer's, for instance, this leads to the accumulation of plaques in the brain, reducing the ability of that organ to function. The researchers studied pregnant mice with diabetes , and found th...