Research from Northwestern Medicine indicates that Human Pegivirus (HPgV), usually harmless, might play a role in the onset of Parkinson's disease. Most Parkinson's cases lack a genetic link, and this investigation sought to explore environmental triggers. Using ViroFind, scientists found HPgV in the brains of Parkinson's patients but not in controls. The immune response varied with genetics, indicating HPgV may interact with body systems in unexpected ways, influencing Parkinson's development.
"Using a tool called 'ViroFind', we analyzed post-mortem brain samples from individuals with Parkinson's and from those who died of other causes. We searched for all known human-infecting viruses to identify any differences between the two groups."
"HPgV is a common, symptomless infection previously not known to frequently infect the brain. We were surprised to find it in the brains of Parkinson's patients at such high frequency and not in the controls."
"This suggests it could be an environmental factor that interacts with the body in ways we didn't realize before. For a virus that was thought to be harmless, these findings suggest it may have important effects, in the context of Parkinson's disease."
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