Comparing Mitochondria And Parkinson's Disease

Josh Brown

Mrs. Free

Honors Biology

2 October 2017

The Mitochondria and Parkinson’s Disease

The mitochondria. We all know it as the “powerhouse of the cell.” However, if the Mitochondria fails, there is a chance of the body developing nasty diseases - such as Parkinson’s Disease.

Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Disease is a chronic movement disorder that is progressive, meaning it gets worse over time. According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation website, “Parkinson’s involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Parkinson's primarily affects neurons in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part

of the brain that controls movement and coordination.”

The Mitochondria
What exactly is the mitochondria?

According to the Molecular Expressions: Cell Biology and Microscopy Structure and Function of Cells and Viruses website, the mitochondria is the organelle that is responsible for supplying the rest of its cell with energy. They convert oxygen and nutrients into adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which powers the cell’s metabolism, and is the reason why animals can breathe. Wikipedia states that there are five parts of the Mitochondria: the outer membrane, the intermembrane space, the inner membrane, the cristae space, and the matrix.

The Relationship

So how are the mitochondria and Parkinson’s Disease connected? Laura Bell explains this in her article, “Mitochondria Gone Bad.” She points out that genes associated with Parkinson’s proteins are also involved in the mitochondria’s operation. She then continues to explain that studies show that mitochondrial genes and proteins are depleted in the part of the brain that is affected by Parkinson’s. The cause behind the mitochondria failure might be due to the fact that Mitochondrial DNA gets copied more so than Nuclear DNA, is more vulnerable to damage, and cannot repair itself as

easily.

This graph shows how cell system failure leads to the development of Parkinson’s Disease by energy metabolism failure, toxins, or genetic disorders, leading to the mechanisms of brain function failure. Energy metabolism failure relates to the mitochondria the most, as the mitochondria can “lose steam.”

Diagnosis, Treatments and The Future
It is difficult to diagnose Parkinson’s, but it is usually done by a physician.

The doctor looks for tremors in arms, if one’s expression is animated, how well they can recover balance or if it’s hard to rise from a chair, and stiffness in the neck. There are numerous types of treatment that can treat the symptoms, such as over-the-counter drugs, prescription medication, and even surgical treatment, but there is nothing as of now that can fully reverse the disease. The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation has four different research programs, all dedicated to finding a cure for PD, provides support to over 40 scientific research projects, for a total of $5.1

million.

Works Cited

Bell, Laura. (2009). Mitochondria Gone Bad. Science News, 175, 20-23. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=f39db68c-e0a3-4b6a-a3ee-cb56c03d7420%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=36650775&db=sch

Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.pdf.org/

Diego Oyarzun. Diagram of the Systems of Parkinson’s Disease. Hamilton Institute. Retrieved from http://www.hamilton.ie/systemsbiology/pd/research/lewybodies.html#diagram

Wikipedia. Mitochondrion. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrion