A new study suggest that infection with seasonal influenza, may increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Most cases of Parkinson's have no known cause and researchers continue to debate and study possible factors that may contribute to the disease. Now, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in the US suggest that a certain strain of influenza virus predisposes mice to develop pathologies that mimic those seen in Parkinson's disease.
Researchers mentioned that they demonstrate that even mice who fully recover from the H1N1 influenza virus responsible for the previous pandemic (also called 'swine flu') are later more susceptible to chemical toxins known to trigger Parkinson's in the lab. Previously, researchers showed that a deadly H5N1 strain of influenza (so-called bird flu) that has a high mortality rate (60% of those infected died from the disease) was able to…
