Iron and Parkinson's Disease

Multiple studies implicate iron in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the brains of patients with PD, iron levels are elevated and the levels of iron-binding proteins are abnormal. Iron has been suspected to contribute to PD because Fe(II) is known to promote oxidative damage. Recent studies suggest that an additional mechanism by which iron might contribute to PD is by inducing aggregation of the alpha-synuclein, which is a protein that accumulates in Lewy bodies in PD.