Researchers: Parkinson’s makes brain cells burn out

Cells in the brain affected by Parkinson’s disease die prematurely because they are prone to burning out “like an overheating motor”, research claims.

Scientists, writing in the journal Current Biology, said they found the cells targeted by the disease require unusually high levels of energy to carry out their job of controlling movement.

Parkinson’s, a degenerative disease for which there is no cure, affects around 9,000 people in Ireland.