07/08/2025
Researchers say abnormal proteins actually travel from somewhere else to the brain.
A groundbreaking study from Wuhan University suggests that Parkinson’s disease may originate in the kidneys, challenging long-held assumptions that it begins in the brain.
Researchers found abnormal clusters of alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) proteins—known to play a central role in Parkinson’s—in the kidneys of patients with the disease.
In animal experiments, healthy kidneys were able to clear these proteins, but malfunctioning kidneys allowed α-Syn to accumulate and spread to the brain, leading to neurological damage.
The study also found α-Syn buildup in patients with chronic kidney disease, even when no neurological symptoms were present. This raises the possibility that the kidneys may act as an early reservoir for pathological proteins, which later travel via blood or nerve pathways to the brain. Though the research is preliminary and based on small sample sizes, it opens a new frontier in Parkinson’s research—suggesting that kidney health could be a target for early intervention and new treatments. As researchers continue exploring non-brain origins of neurodegenerative diseases, these findings could reshape how we understand and manage Parkinson’s.
Source:
Yuan, Y., et al. (2025). Peripheral α-synucleinopathy in kidneys contributes to Lewy body pathogenesis. Nature Neuroscience.
