Parkinson’s ‘may originate in the appendix’: Those who had an organ removed are 52% less likely to develop a condition, study suggests
- One study looked at the medical records of about 25,000 Parkinson’s patients
- Those who had their appendix removed were 52% less likely to be affected
Parkinson’s disease may originate in the appendix, scientists have suggested after a study found those who had the organ removed were less likely to develop the condition.
Researchers in Belgium and the US looked at the medical records of about 25,000 Parkinson’s patients to determine whether bowel problems could be a warning sign of the neurodegenerative disease.
They found that patients with constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s as patients without these symptoms.
However, the results also suggested that those who had their appendix removed — usually performed only in response to infection — were 52 percent less likely to be diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease.
Experts said the study suggests the organ – which has no known function – is the origin of Parkinson’s disease, although more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
Experts say the study suggests that the appendix (red) — which has no known function — is the origin of Parkinson’s disease, although more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
Knowing Parkinson’s symptoms can lead to earlier diagnoses and access to treatments that improve patients’ quality of life
Scientists aren’t exactly sure what the appendix does, but removing it isn’t harmful.
Experts believe our ancestors used it to digest tough foods like tree bark. Some research suggests that it produces and stores microbes that promote gut health.
The latest study, published in the journal Intestinesuggest that the appendix could be a source of a misfolded alpha-synuclein.
The protein is found in the brain, heart and muscle tissue, but when it becomes entangled it forms toxic clumps that are thought to promote the spread of Parkinson’s.
Dr. Tim Bartels, group leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, said: ‘An interesting side effect of the study is the apparently protective association of appendectomy with Parkinson’s disease, which furthermore implies that the appendix could be the origin of the pathological damage. which then spreads through the intestines and finally to the brain.
“However, as the latter association was within the range of potential surveillance bias, it needs further validation.”
For the study, the team of scientists from UZ Leuven and Mayo Clinic Arizona studied people with Parkinson’s.
They were matched with patients of the same age, gender and ethnicity who did not have this disease, to compare diagnoses of bowel disease in their medical records in the five years before their Parkinson’s was noticed.
They found that constipation, difficulty swallowing and gastroparesis — a condition that slows the movement of food into the small intestine — were all linked to a doubling of the risk of developing Parkinson’s in the five years before diagnosis.
Patients with IBS without diarrhea had a 17 percent higher risk.
Clare Bale, associate director of research at Parkinson’s UK, said the “findings add even more weight” to the hypothesis and that gut problems could be an early sign of the disease.
She added: ‘Understanding how and why gut problems occur in the early stages of Parkinson’s could provide opportunities for early detection and treatment approaches that target the gut to improve symptoms and even slow or halt progression of the condition. .’