This process involves a group of lipids or fatty molecules called ceramides, which are found in cell membranes and play important roles in their function and structure.

A paper that is now published in the journal Cell Metabolism describes how the team — at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX — made the unexpected discovery in a fruit fly model of a faulty gene condition with Parkinson's-like symptoms.

Previous studies have identified genes and cell defects linked to Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders with similar symptoms. The researchers suggest that ceramides are the "missing link" than connects them.

"Numerous genes," claims senior study author Hugo J. Bellen, a professor of molecular and human genetics and neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, "have been associated with Parkinson's disease or Parkinson-like diseases; nevertheless, there is still little understanding of how these genes cause these conditions."

Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism

Parkinson's disease affects movement and will get worse over time. Its typical symptoms include tremors, muscle stiffness, and slowness. It can also have nonmotor symptoms, such as sleep disruption, depression, anxiety, and fatigue.

There are around 10 million people worldwide with Parkinson's, with around 1 million living in the United States.

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