Jewish Ledger
Could Israel hold the key to solving the Parkinson’s puzzle?
By Abigail Klein Leichman
It was in1917 that James Parkinson first described the syndrome now known as Parkinson’s disease – a complex, progressive neurological disorder affecting up to 10 million people. And it is fast growing in prevalence worldwide.
The disease is most often diagnosed in people over 60, more often males. Classic symptoms include tremor in about 60 percent of cases, rigidity, poor posture and slow movement.
But several decades before diagnosis, subtler symptoms like sleep disturbances and loss of smell often appear together with constipation and erectile dysfunction.
Concerns over AstraZeneca vaccine
How it works
It starts with the delivery of the gene for the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein. In vector-based vaccines, this is delivered via an adenoviral system, the scientists write.
The SARS-CoV-2 spike gene is then transcribed inside of the nucleus and subsequently exported as mRNA out of the nucleus. Arriving in the cytosol, the mRNA is again translated into the Spike protein. And exactly here lies the problem, the scientists write, the viral piece of DNA deriving from an RNA virus is not optimized to be transcribed inside of the nucleus.
In the nucleus, splicing of the spike protein can occur at splice sites.
Scientist Discovers What May Cause COVID-19 Vaccine-Linked Blood Clots
A German team of researchers this week said they may have discovered what causes rare blood clots in some COVID-19 vaccine recipients.
Rolf Marschalek, a professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt who has been involved in studies looking into the rare clotting condition caused by the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, said his researcher showed the issue may be triggered due to adenovirus vectors.
An adenovirus a common cold virus that can’t replicate is the primary mechanism used by both the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, delivering the genetic instructions for the spike protein of the virus into the recipient’s body. Meanwhile, vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer use mRNA technology.
A German research team has put forward a potential solution to prevent the rare, serious blood clots caused by the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, but other scientists warn it's too early to draw conclusions about the mechanism behind the potentially deadly condition.