Appendectomy and risk of Parkinson's disease in two large prospective cohorts of men and women

Palacios, Natalia; Hughes, Katherine C.; Cereda, Emanuele; Schwarzschild, Michael A.; Ascherio, Alberto

doi:10.1002/mds.109

Cited by 34 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In line with these findings it has been shown that a vagotomy or appendectomy early in life are associated with a lower risk to develop PD later in life [8][9][10] [11][12][13][14]. The appendix appears to be the largest source of α-synuclein, whereas the vagus nerve only seems to be the transporter [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

The cross-sectional area of the vagus nerve is not reduced in Parkinson’s Disease patients

Sijben

Mess

Walter

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Objective Recent studies have revealed the importance of the gut brain axis in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). It has also been suggested that the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the vagus nerve can be used in the diagnosis of PD. Here, we hypothesize that the CSA of the vagus nerve is decreased in PD patients compared to control subjects. Methods In this study we measured the CSA of the vagus nerve on both sides in 31 patients with PD and 51 healthy controls at the level of the common carotid artery using high-resolution ultrasound. Results The CSA of the vagus nerve was not reduced in PD patients compared to controls (p = 0.391. The mean CSA of the left vagus nerve was significantly smaller than the right (p < 0.001). There was no significant correlation between age, gender and autonomic symptoms with the CSA of the left (p = 0.128) and right vagus nerve (p = 0.166). Conclusion These findings show that the CSA of the vagus nerve using ultrasonography is not a reliable diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of PD.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

The cross-sectional area of the vagus nerve is not reduced in Parkinson’s Disease patients

Sijben

Mess

Walter

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…However, whether the Appendix, as a GI tract lymphoid organ, has an enhanced capacity to generate truncated α-syn amylogenic seeds is unknown. Further studies are required to elucidate the role of Appendix in PD (Marras et al, 2016; Svensson et al, 2016; Yilmaz et al, 2017; Palacios et al, 2018).…”

Section: The Prion-like Mechanism Of Pdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prion-Like Mechanisms in Parkinson’s Disease

et al. 2019

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Formation and aggregation of misfolded proteins in the central nervous system (CNS) is a key hallmark of several age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These diseases share key biophysical and biochemical characteristics with prion diseases. It is believed that PD is characterized by abnormal protein aggregation, mainly that of α-synuclein (α-syn). Of particular importance, there is growing evidence indicating that abnormal α-syn can spread to neighboring brain regions and cause aggregation of endogenous α-syn in these regions as seeds, in a “prion-like” manner. Abundant studies in vitro and in vivo have shown that α-syn goes through a templated conformational change, propagates from the original region to neighboring regions, and eventually cause neuron degeneration in the substantia nigra and striatum. The objective of this review is to summarize the mechanisms involved in the aggregation of abnormal intracellular α-syn and its subsequent cell-to-cell transmission. According to these findings, we look forward to effective therapeutic perspectives that can block the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.

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“…diagnostic confirmation procedures in the NHS have been described in prior publications [11]. Briefly, we asked NHS participants to self-report incident PD on biennial questionnaires.…”

Section: Ascertainment Of Pd Cases Pd Identification Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Use of Antibiotics and Risk of Parkinson’s Disease in the Nurses’ Health Study

Palacios

O’Reilly

Schwarzschild

et al. 2020

Parkinson's Disease

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Objective. Antibiotic use is one of the strongest environmental predictors of an altered and less diverse gut microbiome, which has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. To our knowledge, no prior study has examined the association between long-term antibiotic use and Parkinson’s disease. Design. We conducted a prospective study of 59,637 women in the Nurses’ Health Study who reported total duration of antibiotic use at ages 20–39, 40–59, 60 +, or during the past 4 years. We used Cox Proportional Hazard regression to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between categories of antibiotic use and risk of PD. Results. One hundred and eighty cases of PD were confirmed during the follow-up. Self-reported antibiotic use at ages 20–39, 40–59, and 60 +, as assessed in 2004, was not significantly associated with PD risk in our cohort. The hazard ratio comparing participants who used antibiotics for 2 or more months vs. 1–14 days at age 20–39 was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.54, 1.78), at age 40–59 was 1.44 (95% CI: 0.88, 2.33), and at age 60 +was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.53, 1.47). Antibiotic use during the past four years, as assessed in 2008, was also not associated with future risk of PD (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.62, 2.10). Conclusion. In this cohort study, we did not observe a significant association between antibiotic use and incidence PD. A major limitation of our study is assessment of exposure, which required many participants to recall their antibiotic use decades in the past. Thus, although the results of this study do not support an effect of antibiotic use on PD risk, larger investigations relying on records of antibiotic prescriptions would provide more definitive evidence.

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Appendectomy and risk of Parkinson's disease in two large prospective cohorts of men and women

Abstract: Overall, this study suggests limited to no association between appendectomy and Parkinson's disease risk. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Cited by 34 publications

References 25 publications

The cross-sectional area of the vagus nerve is not reduced in Parkinson’s Disease patients

The cross-sectional area of the vagus nerve is not reduced in Parkinson’s Disease patients

Prion-Like Mechanisms in Parkinson’s Disease

Long-Term Use of Antibiotics and Risk of Parkinson’s Disease in the Nurses’ Health Study

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