Knowledge of the minute details of the proteins that are linked to diseases is crucial whether we are to discover therapeutic targets and thus pave the way for possible treatments. Such knowledge gains even more relevance when dealing with rare diseases that have received small attention and for which no treatments are available,such as the case of Kennedy's disease. This week Xavier Salvatella, ICREA researcher at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), and in collaboration with scientists from the University of Florence (Italy),has described a molecular system of protection that involves the androgen receptor protein, a molecule that is mutated in patients with Kennedy's disease and which cause progressive muscle wastage.
Source: phys.org