New research suggests that patients who have had their appendix removed are three times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, despite previous studies that suggested the opposite.
Researchers analyzed the health records of more than 62.2 million patients, identifying those who had undergone appendectomies and were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at least six months later.
"This research shows a clear relationship between the appendix, or appendix removal, and Parkinson's disease, but it is only an association," lead author Dr. Mohammed Z. Sheriff, from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, said in a press release issued Thursday.
One of the key findings of the study revealed that the appendix is a collection point for an abnormal protein linked to Parkinson’s disease called “alpha-synuclein.” Research has shown that the protein can jump between neurons and is capable of travelling up the gastrointestinal tract to the brain.
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