Analyzing Differentiation of Neurons Modeling Parkinson’s Disease Therapy

Parkinson’s disease causes the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra, an area of the brain involved in movement. Researchers are pioneering an approach that could make it possible to replace lost dopaminergic neurons with new cells. In this study, Imaris Filament Tracer was utilized to process images of individual cells, which allowed them to visualize the cell body and neurite diameter, size, and shape and thus determine the maturity of the differentiated dopaminergic cells.