Does Parkinson's develop in the stomach? | Knowledge & Environment | '

SCIENCE

It has long been known that Parkinson's disease is closely related to the death of nerve cells in the midbrain.

The more nerve cells die, the harder it is for the patient to control their body motor skills: they lose their balance and can only walk, grasp, swallow or speak with difficulty.

Over time, the disease is getting harder. In the end, patients are usually bedridden and die frequently because the autonomic nervous system is no longer functioning properly.

Learn More: Does Nicotine Help with Parkinson?

Defective alpha-synuclein proteins form lumps, shown here in red, in the nerve cells.

Defective proteins destroy nerve cells

The death of nerve cells in the brain is probably triggered by incorrectly folded, mutated proteins, so-called alpha-synuclein proteins. These proteins are found in healthy nerve cells in all humans and serve as transport proteins.

But if they are damaged, they destroy nerve cells of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) – a central area of ​​the midbrain. Among other things, SNc is responsible for the production of the hormone dopamine, which performs many vital tasks in the body – such as the control of blood circulation.

Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been able to prove that such defective proteins can find their way from the stomach to the brain of mice. They published their study on 26 June in the journal Neuron.

More on dementia: Alzheimer's: prize for discoveries on protein folding

The substantia nigra pars compacta – dopamine-forming brain cells – are destroyed by the defective proteins.

Month long way from the stomach to the brain

The researchers injected the mice with the high-level pathogenic forms of proteins directly into the nerves between the gastric mucosa and the muscle tissue surrounding the stomach.

After several months, the physicians were then able to detect the pathogenic proteins as well as the damage to the SNc nerve cells in different brain regions of the mice.

After one month, the alpha-synuclein proteins arrived at the brainstem – in the medulla oblongata and pons areas. From there they migrated further into the midbrain and into the striatum. After ten months, the pathogenic proteins had reached the olfactory bulb. It forms the foremost area of ​​the brain.

Everything indicates that the proteins were transported through the vagus nerve. This is a central nerve of the autonomic nervous system that extends from the stomach to the brain stem. When the doctors severed this nerve, the alpha-synuclein proteins could no longer reach the brain during a mouse experiment.

More: Parkinson: If the diagnosis comes, it's already too late

No therapy yet

For now, the discovery does not answer the question of how to stop Parkinson's disease. Nevertheless, neurologist professor and co-author of the study Ted Dawson considers the discovery to be an important breakthrough: "Because the model starts in the stomach, it can be used to study the entire development of Parkinson's disease," he said. "For example, one could test prevention therapies in the animal model, from the phase where there are no symptoms, to a fully erupted Parkinson's disease."

Where does the disease come from?

The neuropathologist Walter Schulz-Schaeffer from the Saarland University Hospital, who was not involved in the study, points out that Parkinson's disease usually spreads to patients' bodies for several decades before the symptoms become clear. This basically makes prevention more difficult.

In addition, the study did not make it clear whether the origin of the disease actually lies in the stomach. The pathogenic proteins could also migrate in the other direction along the nerve pathways: "The recognition that the disease process can spread through stomach and intestine controlling nerves therefore does not mean that the disease must arise in the gastrointestinal tract."

However, Professor Schulz-Schaeffer hopes that the new findings may open the door to developing Parkinson's early detection. The "could significantly improve the treatment options."

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  Move

  Physical exercise not only keeps the blood vessels busy and is therefore useful against dementia, but it also helps the brain directly: the brain finally has to control the body – and adjusts to it. The orientation ability and the memory improve.

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  This way you can prevent dementia

  Dance

  This keeps young and healthy: music, society, movement and body control. To prevent dementia, there is nothing better than a regular dance night. But even here, medicine does not guarantee a lifelong success: even dancers can eventually develop dementia.

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  This way you can prevent dementia

  Do you play an instrument

  Musicians and dancers have a lower risk of dementia, researchers have shown. Making music changes the brain structure and can help older people to remain mentally, physically and socially fit. Anyone who makes music in a group also benefits from social contacts.

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  Train your brain

  Any form of mental activity keeps the brain going: it's not just about riddling and memorizing. Much more important are the social contacts. They also demand and promote memory. Important: Staying in touch with others, doing things and organizing.

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  eat healthy

  Many studies indicate that a healthy diet – rich in vegetables, salad and vegetable fats – has a positive effect on the blood vessels. Anyone who has a low risk of having a heart attack or stroke also has a lower risk of dementia – as scientific studies show.

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  This way you can prevent dementia

  Smoking and alcohol … you guessed it ….

  Tobacco and alcohol are nerve agents. Studies show that regular alcohol abuse triples the risk for all types of dementia. Smoking damages the lungs and promotes arteriosclerosis. Both result in less oxygen in the brain arrives. This in turn accelerates mental decline in old age.

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  Avoid hypertension and diabetes

  If you keep your blood pressure under control, do something about dementia. Because it often arises as a result of cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes and obesity can also promote dementia.

  Author / Fabian Schmidt

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