An approach for the study of energy regulated pathway in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a pernicious neurodegenerative disease for which no cure exists. Its main cellular hallmark is the formation of Lewy inclusion bodies by alpha-synuclein protein aggregation. Energy metabolism is deregulated by etiopathogenic factors of PD and this can have implications in disease onset and progression. However brain energy metabolism is not limited to neuronal metabolism as astrocytes provide metabolic support in the form of energy substrates trafficking. In that context, we propose an ordinary differential equations model to study astrocyte's metabolism and its deregulation by genetic factors of PD. The metabolic model is built on the main energy pathways: glycolysis, tricarboxylic acids cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation chain.