Lilith Barca

• Bsc (Hons) Physiological Sciences
• Elucidating the relationship between Complex 1 dysfunction and autophagy in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease which affects approximately 1 in 500 people. It is caused by the loss of dopamine transmission due to cell death in the substantia nigra region of the brain. One of the causes of this cell death is thought to be a decrease in mitochondrial function, and a decrease in autophagy (removal of dysfunctional mitochondria). This project used fluorescent microscopy of human brain tissue to investigate the relationship between complex 1 (an indicator of mitochondrial function) and the levels of 6 different autophagy proteins in Parkinson’s disease. 

Funding source: Newcastle University