Fat in the brain may hold the key to understanding how Parkinson's disease works, according to a University of Alberta researcher heading up a project aimed at discovering new mechanisms that drive the disease.
Maria Ioannou, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and Canada Research Chair in Brain Lipid Cell Biology, and her team will explore how changes to lipids in the brain contribute to Parkinson's.
Lipids are fatty substances such as cholesterol and oils in the body that are crucial for brain function, as the organ contains the second largest amount of lipids found in humans. The cellular substance also forms part of the structure of cells and works as a signalling molecule and antioxidant in the brain.
