The Origin of Parkinson's Disease Is Likely Found in the Gut, Not the Brain
The specific cause of Parkinson's disease is currently unknown, possibly involving both genetic and environmental factors. Researchers have discovered a link between the gut and the brain, leading to a theory that the gut may be the origin point and root cause for some, if not all, of Parkinson's disease development.
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Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease where the nerves affecting the motor systems of the body (like movement) start to degenerate and die. This results in a lack of control, visible as tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement and impaired walking. Additionally there are sleep, emotional and other sensory problems.
Currently, it is known that those with family members affected by Parkinson's are more likely to get Parkinson's themselves. Pesticide use is also linked, where farmers who use heavy amounts and frequently have a higher risk of Parkinson's.
In Parkinson's patients, synuclein molecules warp into different shapes and clump together as fibers. Normally, this doesn't happen, and the molecules and soluble. The fibers, however, are insoluble and stick around.
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Atomic-resolution structure of alpha-synuclein fibrils
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α-Synuclein aggregation
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Ten years ago researchers published a paper about their findings reporting seeing these synuclein fibers in the nerves of the gut during autopsies. This was found in people with and without Parkinson's. This may indicate a trigger to Parkinson's that is created by some microbe or toxin, such as from pesticides.
This theory is backed up by further by more research from 2 years ago, where people reported digestive problems, mainly constipation, that can start up to 10 years before the other more notnicable symptoms of Parkinson's become visible. People also report a loss of smell. The nose, like the gut, is another part of the body where nerve cells are exposed to things coming in from the environment.
Collin Challis and his colleagues at the California Institute of Technology, have now shown that these fibers migrate to the brain. The research was published on December 1st, and shows how important the gut is for brain health.
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A test to inject synuclein fibers into the guts of mice, resulted in the fibers migrating to the brain after 3 weeks. After 2 months, it spread to the areas for controlling movement. The mice where less agile, like Parkinson's sufferers.
It's also previously been shown that Parkinson's patients have a different gut bacterial composition compared to healthy people. Inflammation from the wrong bacteria, toxins, or food, can make synuclein more likely to aggregate. Pesticides in water and food can aggravate this development.
The odd thing I find, is that scientists and companies want to develop drugs, to get the body to deal with the poison... rather than stop using poison in the first place. LOL. It's like Monsanto GMO corn and round up. Don't stop using the poison or toxin... no, instead, make something immune to it! It's not odd though, is it? It's all about the money ... Why stop a problem when you can make money from it.
The drugs being developed are looking to clean up the excessive synuclein fibers or block their future formation. And screening methods are being looked into, like a colonoscopy dual purpose exam to include a search for the fibers.
But still, no one is look at the bigger picture and taking the larger issues public for the public to be aware. We keep going forward in false methodologies for living, and by the time we realize the mistakes, many end up paying a large price for it. It's all a race to maximize profits and grow, "progress", expand, take over, etc.
All problems might start in the gut, as I have often heard some people say. What we put into our body becomes our body. Having an unhealthy gut may be responsible for many neurodegenerative illnesses or other diseases that develop in the body. There is still a lot we don't know, even about our own bodies. To know thyself is an ongoing journey.
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Thank you for your time and attention! I appreciate the knowledge reaching more people. Take care. Peace.
References:
- New evidence suggests Parkinson's might start in the gut, not the brain
- Parkinson's disease
- Parkinson’s disease may start in the gut and travel to the brain
- Gastric α-synuclein immunoreactive inclusions in Meissner's and Auerbach's plexuses in cases staged for Parkinson's disease-related brain pathology
- Colonic bacterial composition in Parkinson's disease
- Gut Microbiota Regulate Motor Deficits and Neuroinflammation in a Model of Parkinson’s Disease
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@krnel
2016-12-07, 5pm
As for so many diseases! I keep telling people, a healthy gut is a healthy brain, there's another example of it all. Thanks for sharing and namaste :)
Great info! Thanks for this.
Upvoted, followed and resteemed.
Very interesting, I think like most diseases of the contemporary times, food, water and air are massive culprits that create these illnesses. But we have adopted these living methods as way of life from the ruling elites world direction.
Yeah, slowly poisoning the environment and ourselves.
an intriguing possible clue in the etiology of this disease - at least it may shift the focus from a mainly neurological basis to look at other possible causes
Another nice piece @krnel,
You are the first to use #steemitnews since our announcement Monday morning. Thank you.
We've already promoted several of your articles and this one is currently featured here on Steemit News, as well as currently in the featured article on the home page.
I made another post today with #news and #steemitnews if you want to check it out. You may have missed it ;) Thanks.
Yes, thank you. The end came out as an OpEd, so it didn't get resteemed. We're trying to decide whether to include OpEd as a category or just build another site for it. Still undecided, but Steemit sure doesn't lack for opinion!!
However, if it has #news as one of the categories, it goes to the news feed anyway. We just don't necessarily put it in the featured section.
OK, no problem, thanks for letting me know.
Sweet! Thanks! I had some room so I decided to put it in hehe ;) And thank you for the past resteems, much appreciated as well :D Take care.
Nice post upvoted.
the total corruption of alleged 'science' is well documented and exposed already. there's no money in cures.
i heard it started in the gut and then transfered to the brain
I hope you cited me for this...
https://steemit.com/science/@justtryme90/parkinsons-may-begin-in-the-human-gut-more-exciting-results-from-microbiome-work
"The odd thing I find, is that scientists and companies want to develop drugs, to get the body to deal with the poison... rather than stop using poison in the first place. LOL. It's like Monsanto GMO corn and round up. Don't stop using the poison or toxin... no, instead, make something immune to it!"
What? Nonsense talk.
What's nonsense? Poison from pesticides? That we should stop using them?
I upvoted your post previously because it was you, but didn't read it or remember the title, sorry. I would have probably skipped over doing this post if I had recalled seeing one already done so well and explained better.
"I upvoted your post previously because it was you, but didn't read it or remember the title, sorry. I would have probably skipped over doing this post if I had recalled seeing one already done so well and explained better."
You're free to post on what ever topics you wish. :) I was just teasing you with that (the tone likely doesn't come across in my writing).
"What's nonsense? Poison from pesticides? That we should stop using them?"
The statement above is a blanket statement. Not all pesticides are bad, many have no effect on bacteria (that we know of) or humans. Not all pesticides are harmless either, but that doesn't make them all a "poison" that the body has to deal with. It's not fair to paint everything in purely black and white.
For some reason I missed the part that actually irked me when I copy pasted the quote. " It's all about the money ... Why stop a problem when you can make money from it."
That is not at all fair to the scientists working on this, it's certainly not all about the money! It might seem worse when looking at things from the perspective that pesticides and the like are definitively bad, but the data doesn't support that conclusion as written. Much of this work is done by people who are trying to understand these processes better, and improve the lives of those suffering with diseases, the finding that the microbiome composition has any relationship at all with diseases such as Parkinson's is very new really. Everyone likes to get paid for their work, and corporations do want to turn a profit, but it's not just all about the money...
This document: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2006/DSF-HEHC-Food1.pdf
has a list of 60 pesticides components banned in other countries, but not Canada, where I live. I was speaking in broad generality, that pesticides in general, are not good for us. Please show me a pesticide you would like to have on your food to eat.
And yes, everyone works, for money. What I'm saying is that research goes on, and they try to look at the specific tree, but don't talk about the forest. It's about more than just this one issue. The forest is how I mention they don't focus on the pesticides themselves, they just keep looking at their one issue, mention the link to other things, and how pesticides "might" be the reason. So, we need to research more to "prove" it definitively. I can see that pesticides are not good for us. And I can see how other dumping of pollutants, chemicals, toxins and waste into our water table, and environment, is not good for us. You don't always need research over decades to prove something that is fairly obvious to deduce. Cigarette claims were true before they were validated, and all the while the corps denied there was any merit of danger.
As with many things, it's all a matter of concentration. Sure pesticides are not in general good for us, but neither are a vast many other things. A pesticide I would like to have on my food I eat? Of course I would prefer they be used in the minimal possible concentrations, however we must also keep in mind that pesticide use has in large part allowed us to drastically increase food production. Is my alternative to pesticide use reduced crop yields? We already struggle to feed the people on this planet. Am I okay with pesticide use under the safest possible conditions as determined by testing with the safest available compounds? Yes I am. Is it going to be on my food? Yes. Am I going to worry about eating that food? No.
There are always going to be pluses and minuses to every action we take. There is no such thing as a perfect treatment medical treatment, nor is their such thing as a perfect pesticide. Pesticides provide a necessary result and that is allowing for food production to be high while keeping cost low. Inherently I do not care about them, and were technologies developed to allow for sufficient yields in their absence, I would be all for those technologies.
There is plenty of work done to study pesticide toxicity, including a variety of methods for modeling things more globally:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27905518
Not all work is good, and indicates that certain pesticides can be harmful:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27887783
But much of this is still all a matter of concentration, and it would appear that given appropriate study we can determine amounts that allow for effective use of compounds, while not being harmful:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27913071
I maintain my statement that it is imperative to not consider these things using completely black and white terms. They are not entirely bad, but not entirely safe. Certain compounds have greater risks then others, and currently their use is necessary.
Yeah I agree, concentration is an issue. It also becomes inevitable through bio-amplification of regular consumption. I would like society use alternative methods of growing food, that indeed, may cost more, at least at first. But overtime, perhaps that would require a radical change to how we live in general, such as including food forests and permaculture around our communities everywhere.
Thankyou. This is brilliant. Yes, so many health concerns start in the gut.