A new international effort is calling for a major shift in how scientists study Parkinson’s disease.
Although aging is the single biggest risk factor for Parkinson’s, much of the research aimed at understanding and treating the disease has not fully focused on aging itself.
Now, a group of researchers from around the world has published a roadmap urging the scientific community to put aging at the center of Parkinson’s research.
The study, published in npj Parkinson’s Disease, outlines practical steps to better integrate aging into laboratory models of the disease.
One of the senior authors, Dr. Juie Andersen of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, says that many of the biological changes that happen as we grow older closely resemble what is seen in the early stages of Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that affects movement, causing symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and slowed motion.
In the United States, about one million people are living with Parkinson’s. Worldwide, the number exceeds 10 million and continues to rise as populations age.
Only about 10 percent of Parkinson’s cases are clearly linked to inherited genetic mutations. Most cases are considered “sporadic,” meaning they arise from a combination of factors.
These can include age, genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures and lifestyle factors. Researchers believe aging may interact with these other risk factors over time, gradually increasing vulnerability to the disease.
As people age, several changes occur in the body and brain that are also linked to Parkinson’s.
These include problems with mitochondria, the parts of cells that produce energy; reduced autophagy, the process that clears damaged proteins and cell components; increased inflammation; and cellular senescence, in which cells stop dividing but remain active in ways that can harm surrounding tissue.
All of these changes may contribute to the development of Parkinson’s.
Dr. Andersen and her colleagues argue that by studying these aging-related processes more closely, scientists may uncover new therapeutic targets. Aging biology itself is now emerging as a promising area for developing treatments.
The roadmap published by the team identifies laboratory mouse models that are best suited for studying Parkinson’s in the context of aging. It also calls for standardized research methods, greater collaboration among scientists and better use of shared resources. Aging studies often take a long time and require significant funding and coordination, which can discourage researchers from including aging in their experiments.
The authors acknowledge that incorporating aging into research adds complexity. However, they believe it is essential for developing more accurate disease models and, ultimately, better treatments.
By approaching Parkinson’s as a condition deeply intertwined with aging rather than studying it in isolation, researchers hope to gain a more complete understanding of how the disease begins and progresses. This shift could help pave the way for new strategies to slow or prevent Parkinson’s in the growing global population of older adults.
