New Evidence Linking Parkinson’s and Autoimmunity

Much of the etiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD) was thought to be well established, with the noted exception of the hypothesis that has been kicked around for almost a century that PD is partly an autoimmune disorder. Unfortunately, previous studies were unable to directly link the immune system to the neurodegenerative disease.However, a group of scientists led by investigators at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology has found di