image: Midbrain (substantia nigra) of a mouse that was injected with a pathological form of the alpha-synuclein protein. Neurons on the injected side show a reduction in their dopamine markers such as (green) and develop aggregates (red) that share many of the same molecular properties as Lewy bodies in human Parkinson's patients. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the Nov. 16, 2012, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by Kelvin C. Luk at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa., and colleagues was titled, "Pathological α-Synuclein Transmission Initiates Parkinson-like Neurodegeneration in Nontransgenic Mice." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Kelvin Luk, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine