Mathematics for Parkinson's Disease Can It Help?

Abstract

The goal is to attract mathematicians' interest in the neurodegenerative diseases research. Yoshinori Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize in 2016 in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy using yeast as a model organism. These uncovered secrets of nature initiated much in life science, including many mathematical models of Parkinson's disease: cell population dynamics, mitophagy, autophagic vesicle dynamics in single cells, dopaminergic nerve cell and terminal models, and glucose metabolism. The cause of PD – alpha-synuclein – potentially connects the gut-brain axis in PD patients. It is closely related to lipid metabolism and nutrition. Thus, a new science is emerging – neurogastroenterology.

Keywords

• parkinson's disease
• alpha-synuclein
• autophagy
• leaky gut
• dopaminergic nerve cells
• brain metabolism