Parkinson's disease 'may' start in gut

[John Mac]

Another study linking the gut to illnesses once thought to be psychiatric.

The brain disease Parkinson's may actually start in the depths of the digestive system, US scientists say.

In their study, people whose appendix had been removed were less likely to develop the neurodegenerative disease.

And the appendix, long thought of as pointless in the human body, contained the substance that kills brain cells.

Parkinson's UK said the findings were the most compelling evidence yet that the disease's origins lie outside the brain.

In Parkinson's, toxic proteins build up in the brain to kill nerves, particularly those linked with movement.

• Parkinson's disease is incurable
• It affects 128,000 people in the UK
• As well as damaging movement, it affects the senses, memory and mood

It might feel counter-intuitive, but there is now growing evidence that the gut is involved.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46050744

 

[Hip]

A new study also found evidence for enterovirus infection in the neurons of Parkinson's disease patients.

Like the toxic protein alpha synuclein, enterovirus can also travel up the vagus nerve from the guts into the brain. The vagus nerve enters the brain at the brainstem, which is the damaged area in Parkinson's.

 

[Manganus]

A new study also found evidence for enterovirus infection in the neurons of Parkinson's disease patients.

Like the toxic protein alpha synuclein, enterovirus can also travel up the vagus nerve from the guts into the brain. The vagus nerve enters the brain at the brainstem, which is the damaged area in Parkinson's.

Very interesting. Thanks a lot for the link, @Hip !

(Once upon a time, when I worked at a department för infectious diseases, we had a few simmering disputes in the staff. One of them was whether axons are large enough to serve as a route for viral spread. I may have been wrong. I did not believe in cytoplasmic transport in the peripheral nervous system where the axons are so long. I imagined extra-cellular transport to be much more likely.)

And I never heard about any encephalitis lethargica. Also very interesting!
The greatest medical mystery of the 20th century? Never heard of it!
Falsely believed to be autoimmune, they say. Hmmm...
With sleep inversion, they say! Hmmm... Hmmm...
Virus spread through the Vagus nerve!!!
Interesting!

 

[Alvin]

This has been theorized for many years, the vagus nerve cutting reducing risk has been known for quite a while. Alpha synuclein traveling to the brain from the gut has also been known for a while.