(Catharine Paddock/ Medical News Today) — An analysis of the health system records of more than 62 million people in the United States has found a link between appendix removal and raised risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers compared data on people who had undergone an appendectomy, or appendix removal, to those who had not.
The analysis showed that those who had undergone an appendectomy were more than three times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease later on.
The findings are further evidence of a connection between the gut and the brain in Parkinson’s disease. Previous studies that have focused on the role of the appendix have drawn conflicting conclusions about whether having an appendectomy might raise or lower a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. (…)