The mystery behind the "CURSE" disease killing natives on a solved Australian island



[ad_1]

Asia Pacific

Get a short URL

The indigenous inhabitants of an isolated island north of Australia have been suffering for years, while some of them have mysteriously started to develop walking, talking, eating and dead problems. slowly and painfully. The causes of the disease, which they considered a curse, were hidden in their genes.

A neurodegenerative disease known as Machado-Joseph's Disease (MJD) has been discovered as the "curse" that painfully kills hundreds of inhabitants of Groote Eylandt, which is separated by a 50-km wide strait located in the Northern Territory. However, like Parkinson's disease, which is sometimes confused with the MJD, no one can relieve the inhabitants because there is still no cure.

The Daily Mail reports that for many years, many natives thought that they had been cursed. Many of them began to develop a number of serious symptoms, gradually losing their ability to walk, talk, eat and other muscle activities, dying slowly and painfully. However, the explanation has been discovered in their genetics.

According to the MJD foundation, a failure of a chromosome leads to the production of an abnormal protein, which becomes fatal to the nerve cells of the brain. This begins when muscle weakness turns into total physical disability. In the end, a person completely loses their ability to speak or move, while remaining totally alert.

READ MORE: Aboriginal livelihoods in the Northern Territory of Australia remain poor despite funding

The researchers found that the Northern Territory in Australia had the highest concentration of people with DRM and its most serious strain. The outlet indicates that more than 100 residents of the region already have symptoms of MJD, while more than 654 of them could develop the disease in the future – most of them them coming from the island.

Australian research cites research suggesting that each generation tends to develop the disease earlier than the previous one.

"Whenever someone with MJD has a child, that risk exists. The numbers will continue to increase, "said Libby Massey, director of research and education at the MJD Foundation, quoted by the point of sale.

Nevertheless, there is still hope as scientists are currently working to test various drugs designed to neutralize deadly protein using genetically engineered zebrafish. Fish are able to carry the human gene considered to be the source of the disease.

[ad_2]

Source link