Calcium is essential in old age to prevent osteoporosis and other bony and dental diseases related to mineralization of bone matrix but a recent study has also warned its bad effect on Brain Neurons too. Excess levels of calcium in brain cells may lead to the formation of toxic clusters that are the hallmark of Parkinson's disease, according to a study. Researchers led by the University of Cambridge in the UK found that calcium can mediate the interaction between small membranous structures inside nerve endings, which are important for neuronal signalling in the brain, and alpha-synuclein, the protein associated with Parkinson's disease.
Excess levels of either calcium or alpha-synuclein may be what starts the chain reaction that leads to the death of brain cells. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, represent another step towards understanding how and why…
