Parkinson's might get its start in your appendix, study suggests

What started off as one scientist's "weird idea" has become a full-fledged scientific study, and its results suggest the appendix may determine whether someone gets Parkinson's disease.

In the generally useless gut organ, there's an abnormal buildup of neurotoxic proteins that often slide their way to the brain, Stat News reports. That protein's appearance in the brain is an indicator of Parkinson's, and a study published Wednesday found that people who've had their appendix removed have a lower risk of getting the disease.

Researchers launched the study based on findings that, of 1.6 million Swedes, those who'd had an appendectomy were 19.3 percent less likely to develop Parkinson's. They also noted how the appendix was full of the Parkinson's-linked protein, per Stat. While this doesn't mean the appendix can directly cause Parkinson's — people without appendixes still get the disease — it is another "piece of the puzzle" in finding what does, a Parkinson's expert tells The Associated Press.

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Parkinson's affects the brain, causing tremors throughout the body. But scientists have long known the disease is connected to the gastrointestinal system. People tend to develop GI issues before getting the brain disease, and cutting the nerve that links the appendix to the brain has also reduced Parkinson's chances, AP says.

Still, the study does note that 99 percent of people don't end up getting Parkinson's, even though most of them have the intestinal organ, reports Stat. Likewise, there was no benefit to losing an appendix once the roots of Parkinson's had already taken hold, or for those who lived in urban environments. So you can call off that preventative appendectomy, at least for now. Read more at Stat News.