Abandoning the Proteinopathy Paradigm in Parkinson Disease

Congratulations to Dr. Okun on the publication of his Viewpoint article in the October issue of JAMA Neurology.

Proteins only function in their normal state (soluble monomers) and cease to function when transformed into cross-β fibers (insoluble amyloids). This is a biophysical inevitability. What is uncertain is whether amyloids drive neurodegeneration. While the depletion of normal proteins (proteinopenia) remains largely overlooked, the accrual of amyloids (proteinopathy) has long dominated research efforts in biomarker development and disease modification in Parkinson disease (PD).  Read the full article here!