ABSTRACT
Parkinson’s disease is a severe neurodegenerative disorder that currently affects more than 1.5 million people in the United States. The total health care costs for Parkinson’s disease are approximately $25 billion per year, and this cost is expected to rise unless an effective treatment can be found.12 For an ef–cient treatment to be developed, however, the cause (molecular mechanism) of the disease must –rst be determined and a therapy must be devised. Often the most effective ways to discover the cause of any disease is to start with data and observations from those patients already presenting symptoms and work backward through the progression of the disease until the root cause is exposed. A thorough understanding of what is
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................29 2.2 Methods ..........................................................................................................40 2.3 Results and Discussion ...................................................................................50 2.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 75 References ................................................................................................................77
already known about Parkinson’s disease will make clear why the avenue of research discussed in this chapter may aid in the search for the cause of this disease.
