Várias são as doenças que podem beneficiar das descobertas do projecto Folding@Home.
Têm aqui já algumas com uma breve descrição delas.
O texto é retirado do Tech Report. É uma equipa muito activa.
O que é o Folding?
Sindrome de Parkinson
Doença de Alzheimer
Têm aqui já algumas com uma breve descrição delas.
O texto é retirado do Tech Report. É uma equipa muito activa.
O que é o Folding?
Folding is a competition between teams and individuals. We enjoy talking trash and the thrill of conquest, but the project is really about scientific research. Stanford uses Folding@Home to better understand the human body and what causes it to fall prey to various diseases.
Sindrome de Parkinson
Parkinson's Syndrome is named for James Parkinson, the British doctor who first described the disorder in 1817. Dr. Parkinson called his discovery the "shaking palsy." It is characterized by uncontrollable shaking or "tremors" in the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face. Parkinson's can also cause stiffness in the limbs, which affects comfort and mobility. The disease is chronic and progressive, meaning that it gets worse as times goes on. 1.5 million people in the United States are afflicted and there is a new diagnosis every nine minutes. The total cost of treating this disease is estimated at over $25 billion per year.
The primary cause of Parkinson's is a drastically decreased level of dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical produced by certain brain cells that helps transmit signals to the muscles. When dopamine levels are low, the signals get crossed and incorrect or conflicting signals are sent to the muscles. The muscles are fine; they're just getting bad instructions. It is believed that low dopamine levels are caused by the death of brain cells that produce the chemical. Folding@Home is attempting to prove or disprove the theory that mis-folded proteins contribute to the death of these brain cells.
Doença de Alzheimer
Alzheimer’s Disease is named for Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician who in 1906 performed an autopsy on a woman who had died after years of progressively worsening memory loss and dementia. During the autopsy, he discovered dense deposits around nerve cells in the brain and twisted fibers inside the cells. To this day, the only definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer's is to observe these conditions in an autopsy post-mortem. At this time, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, although some drugs seem to slow the progress of the disease and lessen its symptoms. These symptoms include memory loss, confusion, hallucination and dementia, all of which worsen as time goes on. Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death among adults, and an estimated 4.5 million Americans have the disease. The number of Americans with Alzheimer’s has more than doubled since 1980, and as many 16 million Americans could have the disease by 2050. The cost of treating Alzheimer’s is more than $100 billion per year, with the average lifetime cost of care for afflicted individuals hovering around $175,000.
The cost of Alzheimer's goes far beyond mere dollars. More than seven out of ten people with Alzheimer’s disease live at home, where almost 75% of their care is provided by family and friends. The financial and emotional burden this places on both the sufferer and their caregivers is enormous as the patient gradually forgets almost all details of his life, failing to recognize spouses, children and other close friends and family. Since Alzheimer's is impossible to test for, many diagnoses are not made until the disease has advanced. However, estimates are that a person with Alzheimer's can expect anywhere from eight to 20 years of gradual descent into complete dementia. The biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's is age; one in ten people over age 65 and five of ten over age 85 are afflicted. There are rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer's that can strike an individual as young as 30.
One of the goals of the F@H project is to determine the role that mis-folded proteins play in the corruption of the nerve cells in the brain that causes Alzheimer's. The twisted fibers in the nerve cells are a consequence of the disease. It is also known that the deposits (plaque) around the cells is made up almost entirely of a single mis-folded protein. F@H is currently trying to determine if the plaque is also a consequence of the disease or if it is the cause of Alzheimer's. Either way, the answer to that question will be a huge step on the road toward fighting this devastating illness.
Fibrose Cística
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetically inherited disease that affects the body's ability to move salt and water in and out of cells. The resulting mucus buildup hampers both the lungs and digestive system, eventually leading to problems such as frequent lung infections and difficulty breathing. In the digestive system, children with Cystic Fibrosis have a large appetite, but grow slowly or not at all due to the body's inability to get nutrients to where they are needed. About 30,000 adults and children in the U.S. have Cystic Fibrosis, although the majority of sufferers are under age 10.
There is no cure for Cystic Fibrosis, but most people with the disease can expect to survive until about age 30. That lifespan is a credit to improvements in the treatment of CF; historically, most children afflicted with Cystic Fibrosis died before age four. Treatments for the disease are limited to helping combat the symptoms. There are some medications on the market that can help slow the progress of the disease, but most CF sufferers experience worse symptoms as they get older.
Cystic Fibrosis only occurs when both parents carry the CF gene. A carrier does not suffer any CF symptoms, and without a test will never know that they are a carrier. If both parents carry the CF gene, there is a one in four chance that the child will develop Cystic Fibrosis. About one in 31 people carry the cystic fibrosis gene, although Caucasians have a greater chance of being carriers. Potential parents can be tested to see if they carry the CF gene. This test is not required, but it is recommended by the American Medical Association, especially for those with a family history of Cystic Fibrosis. Like many genetic diseases, CF is passed down through the family line.
Since proteins make up a large part of the genetic material that carries the CF gene, it is thought that perhaps mis-folded proteins might be a catalyst for the genetic defect that causes CF. One of the goals of the Folding@home project is to confirm or refute this hypothesis.
