Normal prion protein regulates iron metabolism

(Case Western Reserve University) An iron imbalance caused by prion proteins collecting in the brain is a likely cause of cell death in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found. The breakthrough follows discoveries that certain proteins found in the brains of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients also regulate iron.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news