A new study from the University of Copenhagen is helping scientists better understand what causes Parkinson’s disease.
This disease is the second most common brain disorder in older adults, affecting between seven and ten million people around the world.
Despite how many people it affects, doctors still don’t know exactly why it happens. But this new research offers important clues.
The study was led by Professor Shohreh Issazadeh-Navikas and published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. It focuses on how a problem in a tiny part of the cell—called mitochondria—might lead to Parkinson’s.
Mitochondria are often called the powerhouses of the cell because they help make energy. Every cell needs energy to work properly, especially brain cells.
Normally, when mitochondria get old or damaged, the cell has a way to clean them up and recycle them. Think of it like how we digest food and get rid of waste. But in people with Parkinson’s disease, this cleaning system seems to be blocked. This blockage stops the cell from getting rid of the bad mitochondria.
As a result, the damaged mitochondria build up in the nerve cells, which are also called neurons. This makes it harder for the neurons to make energy. Without enough energy, these cells get weak and start to die.
That’s what causes many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s, like trouble with movement and, in some people, memory problems and dementia.
The study also found that this blockage is connected to certain immune system genes. These genes are normally involved in fighting infections like viruses. But they also help control how much energy nerve cells have. When these genes don’t work properly, it can mess up the mitochondria clean-up system.
One part of this immune response is also involved in fighting viruses such as COVID-19. In fact, a mutation in one of these related genes has been linked to more severe illness from COVID-19, showing how the immune system and brain health might be connected.
To understand what was going wrong, the researchers looked at four different sets of data. They studied brain cells from people who had Parkinson’s, including some who had developed dementia. They looked at which genes were active and how these patterns were different from people without the disease.
They discovered that damaged mitochondria caused a rise in other harmful proteins. One of the biggest discoveries was that a protein called PIAS2 was much more active in people with Parkinson’s compared to healthy people of the same age. This protein and the pathways it affects might play a key role in both typical Parkinson’s and inherited forms of the disease.
These findings could help doctors create new treatments that target this blocked pathway. If they can fix the blockage, they may be able to stop or even reverse the damage in the brain. This gives hope to people with Parkinson’s disease and those at risk of developing it.
Scientists are now working on more studies to build on this research. The goal is to find better ways to protect the brain and fight diseases like Parkinson’s as people age.
If you care about Parkinson’s disease, please read studies that Vitamin B may slow down cognitive decline, and Mediterranean diet could help lower risk of Parkinson’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that blueberry supplements may prevent cognitive decline, and results showing Plant-based diets could protect cognitive health from air pollution.
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