Parkinson’s may be driven by ‘vicious cycle’ that disrupts brain waste drainage
New Scientist · Carissa Wong ·
Parkinson's disease is linked to toxic protein clumps and disrupted brain waste removal, which may feed off each other, causing the condition to progress
Abnormal aggregates of a protein called alpha-synuclein form inside nerve cells in Parkinson's disease
Inflammation of lymphatic vessels, which drain brain waste, may be involved in the onset of Parkinson’s disease. The condition is associated with the build-up of a misfolded protein called alpha-synuclein, which may not be efficiently removed from the brain if the lymphatic vessels are impaired. But the accumulation of alpha-synuclein seems to further damage these vessels, creating a self-reinforcing chain of events where each problem worsens the other.
“It is a vicious cycle,” says Justin Rustenhoven at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. This may also help explain why Parkinson’s disease is a progressive condition that worsens over time, he says.
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