Reducing Oxygen Intake Could Help Prevent — or Even Reverse — Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

The Research A team led by HHMI Investigator Vamsi Mootha and scientists from the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital shows that a low-oxygen environment — similar to the thin air found at Mount Everest base camp — protects brain cells and restores movement in mice with Parkinson’s-like disease. The Background The study builds on a decade of research from Mootha and others into hypoxia — the condition of having lower than normal oxygen levels in the body or tissues. Previous research found that low oxygen could alleviate brain-related symptoms in some rare diseases where mitochondria are affected, raising the possibility that the same could be true in more common neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, which causes the progressive loss of neurons in the brain, leading to tremors and slowed movements. Neurons affected by Parkinson’s gradually accumulate toxic protein clumps, and some biochemical evidence has suggested that these clumps interfere with the function of mitochondria. The Impact The findings suggest that cellular dysfunction in Parkinson’s leads to the accumulation of excess oxygen molecules in the brain, which then fuels neurodegeneration, and that reducing oxygen intake could help prevent or even reverse symptoms of Parkinson’s. The researchers say the results raise the possibility of an entirely new paradigm for addressing Parkinson’s disease. But the authors caution that it’s too soon to translate the results directly into new treatments for patients. They emphasize that breathing low-oxygen air without supervision by a medical professional could be dangerous and might even worsen the disease. They’re optimistic their findings could help spur the development of new drugs that mimic the effects of low oxygen — an approach Mootha and his team are developing to potentially treat mitochondrial disorders.