USA: In a significant development that challenges previous assumptions, a recent meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Neurology has found no evidence supporting an association between appendectomy and the risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD) . The study, led by Hok Leong Chin from the Section of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago Medicine, evaluated data from nearly 8 million individuals across nine studies.

The research stems from Braak’s hypothesis, which proposes that Parkinson’s disease may begin in the gastrointestinal tract. According to this theory, misfolded α-synuclein proteins, believed to be key in PD pathogenesis, could travel retrogradely through the vagus nerve to the brain, initiating the neurodegenerative process. The appendix, rich in α-synu

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