Scientists are learning more about the mysterious origins of Parkinson’s disease, and recent research suggests it may start in the gut.
Elizabeth Bess, a chemistry professor at the University of California, Irvine, led the study, which discovered that a buildup of certain proteins in the gut might eventually travel to the brain, causing Parkinson’s symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease affects about a million people in the U.S. and causes a loss of control over bodily movements.
The disease occurs when a specific protein, called alpha-synuclein, clumps together in the brain.
These clumps damage the neurons that control movement, leading to the physical symptoms associated with Parkinson’s.
Bess’ team focused on studying the human microbiome, which is the community of microbes in the gut.
They found that the common gut bacteria E. coli might play a role in Parkinson’s by producing waste that triggers the formation of these harmful protein clumps.
The team’s findings suggest that these clumps form in the gut and can travel to the brain through the vagus nerve, a connection between the gut and brain.
This discovery raises the possibility of preventing Parkinson’s by stopping these protein clumps from forming in the gut.
Bess’ team, collaborating with electrical engineering professor Aida Ebrahimi from Penn State, found that a component of coffee could help prevent the harmful protein clumps from forming.
Other studies have suggested that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s, and this new research gives insight into how that might work.
Looking forward, Bess’ team plans to trace the journey of these protein clumps from the gut to the brain.
They’re using bioluminescent tags to light up the proteins and track their path through the body. This will help scientists understand if the proteins move from gut cells into neurons, which could eventually lead to Parkinson’s symptoms.
One of the most hopeful findings from Bess’ team is that these harmful protein clumps often appear in the gut many years before any Parkinson’s symptoms show up.
This creates a window of time to potentially stop the disease before it even begins to affect the brain. The idea of treating a brain disease by targeting the gut might sound unusual, but this research is paving the way for new approaches to managing Parkinson’s.
The study was published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience and in ACS Chemical Biology, and was funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke, along with other science foundations.
If you care about Parkinson’s disease, please read studies that Vitamin B may slow down cognitive decline, and Mediterranean diet could help lower risk of Parkinson’s.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how wheat gluten might be influencing our brain health, and Olive oil: a daily dose for better brain health.
