We all know about the glories of the human gut microbiota, but did you know that the condition of one’s gut microbiota can suggest the onset of fatal diseases? Thats right– respect the gut. Recent studies have been trying to identify the role of the human microbiota in Parkinson patients. Parkinson’s disease is an inhibiting and crippling disease of the brain, according to a recently updated article by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. As the often-deadly disease progresses, symptoms of shaking, difficulty walking, and stiffness increase. This inhibiting disease has been the topic of many health reform conversations world-wide with questions as to how and why exactly this disease develops; this recent study may lead to more answers.
The study, written in a post by Medical News Today, suggests that understanding the gut will help researches understand the origin of the disease– something that is not 100% clear yet. According to Dr. Scheperjans from Helsinki University Hospital, “…the origin of the disease may lie in the gut with possible involvement of abnormal protein aggregates, local inflammation, and the gut microbiome.” Simply put, this study of his identified that by looking at gut composition before and after diagnosis, there is a link between certain proteins in the gut microbiome and nerve abnormalities that trigger the disease. Other factors like hyper-permeability of the gut and the presence of high amounts of alpha-synuclein (a protein) in Parkinson patients also were found to play a role in the link between the gut microbiota and Parkinson’s; there is a belief that this protein is playing a role in the onset of Parkinson’s due to the findings of high amounts of it in the enteric nervous system of patients, which would have originated from the gut. The article mentions that this study is just barely scratching the surface and more studies need to be conducted to further analyze these beliefs. The article also mentions how hard it is to study a disease like Parkinson’s; it is often diagnosed long after the patient actually has it, making it difficult to study that patient’s microbiota beforehand. Basically, there is no way to truly predict if someone will develop Parkinson’s, which obviously makes it hard to gather information on a patient before they get the disease and compare.
I will honestly say that I am disappointed this study did not answer all the questions it intended to. But that’s what a good study should do- answer some questions but bring rise to new ones that ought to innovate and change the way we view the medical world. Suggesting a possible connection between gut bacteria and a disease of the brain is actually very innovative and deserves some credit (@me). My hope is that future studies will expand upon this one so someday we can accurately understand, predict, and maybe even prevent Parkinson’s disease using knowledge of gut microbiota. One thing’s for sure- happy gut, happy life. 🙂
Microbiology for Smarties 