Neurological disease drug target found?

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've detailed the molecular structure of a key part of a cellular receptor involved in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases.

The researchers at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, led by Assistant Professor Hiro Furukawa, say their accomplishment might lead to a new drug target for neurological diseases.

The scientists, in cooperation with the Brookhaven National Laboratory, obtained crystal structures for one of several "subunits" of the NMDA receptor. That receptor belongs to a family of cellular receptors that mediate excitatory nerve transmission in the brain.

One theory of the cause of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis posits excessive amounts of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate can cause an overstimulation of glutamate receptors, including the NMDA receptor, the scientists said. That overstimulation, the theory holds, can cause nerve-cell death and subsequent neurological dysfunction.

The researchers say their detailing of a subunit of the NMDA receptor could result in new treatments for the devastating neurological illnesses.

The complex research is reported in the early online edition of the The EMBO Journal, the publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization.