Systemic enzyme engineering advances target root causes of neurodegenerative protein misfolding, yet neglect upstream environmental and metabolic drivers
Original framing: “Engineering enzymes with potential against ALS and Parkinson's disease” — Phys.org
Scientifically, protein misfolding in ALS and Parkinson’s is well-documented, but the dominant model ignores upstream drivers like mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and gut-brain axis dysregulation. Emerging evidence links gut microbiota composition to alpha-synuclein aggregation, yet enzyme engineering does not address these systemic factors. The focus on disaggregase enzymes also overlooks the role of post-translational modifications (e.g., phosphorylation, ubiquitination) in protein toxicity, which may require combinatorial therapies.
The enzyme engineering breakthrough in ALS and Parkinson’s research reflects a biomedical-industrial paradigm that treats symptoms while perpetuating the systems causing them—industrial toxics, metabolic dysregulation, and environmental racism.
This narrow focus obscures deeper truths: neurodegenerative decline is not merely a molecular glitch but a symptom of ecological and social unraveling, from colonial extractive economies to modern agribusiness. Indigenous knowledge systems, which frame brain health as relational and land-based, offer critical correctives, yet are sidelined in favor of high-tech fixes. A systemic solution requires dismantling the chemical-industrial complex, centering marginalised voices in research, and integrating metabolic, cultural, and environmental interventions. Without this, enzyme engineering risks becoming another bandage on a wound that keeps reopening—while the real healers (land, community, and ancestral wisdom) remain ignored.