Metabolic Syndrome and Parkinson’s Disease: Two Villains Join Forces

Background: Metabolic syndrome and Parkinson’s disease have common pathophysiological denominators. This study aimed to investigate how metabolic syndrome contributes to Parkinson’s disease progression, as well as the genetic traits shared by PD and MetS. Methods: Four hundred and twenty-three newly diagnosed drug-naïve PD patients were analyzed from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) database. We compared longitudinal changes in the total and subscale scores of the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) between PD patients with and without metabolic syndrome over a five-year follow-up. We assessed the frequency of PD-associated genetic variants in both groups. Results: At baseline, Parkinson’s patients with MetS were typically men (p < 0.01) and older (p = 0.04), with a higher Hoehn and Yahr score (p = 0.01) compared with their counterparts without MetS. They showed higher Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) total scores at baseline and in follow-up years 2, 3, 4, and 5 (all p-values < 0.05) as analyzed by the Generalized Estimating Equation model. These differences were primarily driven by elevated motor scores (MDS-UPDRS Part III) (p < 0.01). MetS was associated with a higher frequency of the ZNF646.KAT8.BCKDK_rs14235 variant and a lower frequency of the NUCKS1_rs823118 and CTSB_rs1293298 variants. Conclusions: PD patients with MetS had worse motor symptomatology. Both conditions appear to share genetic susceptibility, involving genes related to lipid metabolism (BCKDK), autophagy and inflammation (CTSB), and chromatin regulation (NUCKS1).