Intestinal microbes may be one of the major Parkinson's Disease causes. In order to find out more about Parkinson's brain symptoms, it is important to have your gut checked. For mouse brains, such microbes are capable of activating microglia, a kind of immune cells, that causes inflammation similar to the PD's. It also causes motor problems in mouse brains.
Scientists are now suggesting that doctors may be able to cure Parkinson's Disease if they have a look at the patient's intestine. If the bacterial imbalance is fixed, it is possible to have a successful treatment for the disease. According to neuroscientist John Cryan, the latest discovery is quite exciting.
Cryan from University College Cork in Ireland says this is not the first time scientists have found a connection between intestine and brain. This is, however, the first time that the microbiome comes into the forefront.
Sarkis Mazmanian, who is a microbiologist at Caltech, adds that the study adds a mechanistic and functional role of the microbiome. The study coauthor, nevertheless, says that it is unclear if intestinal microbes are responsible for causing Parkinson's Disease.
Mazmanian's team researched with mice with too much alpha-synuclein. Such kind of protein is believed to be causing Parkinson's if it clusters in the brain. Those with additional alpha-synuclein started behaving like those with Parkinson's.
It is critical to know Parkinson's Disease causes, as the disease affects over 10 million people around the world. Interestingly, around 70% of those suffer from gastrointestinal problems like constipation. Several recent researches have indicated that there is a clear relation between Parkinson's and gut microbes. According to Cell, while gut microbes do influence neurological disorders, there is no functional link between neurodegenerative diseases and intestinal bacteria.
According to Abstracts Online, Parkinson's symptoms include the loss of catecholaminergic neurons. Olfactory and gastrointestinal deficits may lead to the disease. When aSyn fibrils travel to the CNS from peripheral organs, it may be considered as one of the major Parkinson's Disease causes.
