A new study from Wuhan University proposes that Parkinson’s disease may begin in the kidneys, not the brain.
The research focused on alpha-synuclein (α-Syn), a protein linked to Parkinson’s. Scientists found clumps of misfolded α-Syn in the kidneys of 10 out of 11 patients with Parkinson’s or dementia involving Lewy bodies. Similar clumps were found in 17 out of 20 people with chronic kidney disease, despite no neurological symptoms.
“We demonstrate that the kidney is a peripheral organ that serves as an origin of pathological α-Syn,” the researchers wrote in Nature Neuroscience.
Tests on mice revealed that those with healthy kidneys cleared injected α-Syn, while those with damaged kidneys saw the protein spread to the brain. When nerves between the brain and kidneys were cut, the spread stopped. Blood tests further suggested α-Syn levels in the bloodstream influence brain damage.
While sample sizes were small, the findings may open new pathways for Parkinson’s treatment.