Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have made an exciting discovery about Parkinson’s disease (PD), a condition that affects 7 to 10 million people around the world.
Parkinson’s is known for causing shaking, stiffness, and trouble moving, especially in older adults. But until now, scientists didn’t fully understand what causes the disease.
The new study found that a key problem in Parkinson’s starts inside brain cells. These cells use tiny parts called mitochondria to make energy. Mitochondria are like batteries or power plants for the cell. When they get damaged, the cell has a cleaning system to remove them. But in Parkinson’s, this cleaning system gets blocked.
Think of it like a kitchen where the trash can’t be taken out. Over time, the trash piles up and makes it hard to cook or clean. In the same way, when damaged mitochondria build up, brain cells can’t make enough energy. They become weak and start to die.
This loss of brain cells causes the movement problems seen in Parkinson’s. In later stages of the disease, it can also lead to memory loss and dementia.
The scientists discovered that the blockage happens because of problems in genes that are part of the immune system. These genes usually help fight off viruses, but they also play a role in keeping the cell’s energy systems running.
One of these genes is also connected to how the body responds to COVID-19. Some people with mutations in this gene get sicker from the virus, which shows how the immune system and brain health are connected.
To learn more, the team looked at brain cells from people with Parkinson’s and compared them to cells from healthy people of the same age.
They found that people with Parkinson’s had high levels of a protein called PIAS2. This protein seems to block the cell’s ability to clean out damaged mitochondria, which makes the disease worse.
When mitochondria can’t be removed, they create even more harmful proteins. These toxic proteins make the brain environment unhealthy, speeding up the damage to brain cells.
The good news is that this research could lead to new ways to treat Parkinson’s. By fixing the blocked cleaning system or lowering PIAS2 levels, scientists might be able to stop or slow down the disease. It could even help prevent memory problems in people with Parkinson’s.
The study was led by Professor Shohreh Issazadeh-Navikas and was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. It shows how aging, the immune system, and brain health are all connected. This discovery opens the door to new treatments that go beyond just controlling symptoms and instead target the main cause of the disease.
More research is needed to turn these findings into new therapies. But if successful, these treatments could bring real hope to millions of people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
