Parkinson’s May Begin in Gut and Spread to the Brain Via the Vagus Nerve

-

The chronic neurodegenerative Parkinson’s disease affects an increasing number of people. However, scientists still do not know why some people develop Parkinson’s disease. Now researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital have taken an important step towards a better understanding of the disease.
New research indicates that Parkinson’s disease may begin in the gastrointestinal tract and spread through the vagus nerve to the brain.
The first clinical examination
The research has presented strong evidence that Parkinson’s disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract and spreads via the vagus nerve to the brain. Many patients have also suffered from gastrointestinal symptoms before the Parkinson’s diagnosis is made.
“Patients with Parkinson’s disease are often constipated many years before they receive the diagnosis, which may be an early marker of the link between neurologic and gastroenterologic pathology related to the vagus nerve ,” says Elisabeth Svensson.
Previous hypotheses about the relationship between Parkinson’s and the vagus nerve have led to animal studies and cell studies in the field. However, the current study is the first and largest epidemiological study in humans.
The research project is an important piece of the puzzle in terms of the causes of the disease. In the future the researchers expect to be able to use the new knowledge to identify risk factors for Parkinson’s disease and thus prevent the disease.
Facts
  • Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and neurodegenerative disease which affects approx. 1 out of every 1,000 people.
  • The first signs of the disease are most often seen between the ages of 50-60.
  • The researchers carried out a registry study involving 14,883 patients who had undergone a vagotomy.
  • The research project was supported by the Danish Parkinson’s Disease Association and PROCRIN (Program for Clinical Research Infrastructure).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cell Reproduction

-
Image
Genetic Control of Protein Synthei s s, Cell Function, and Cell Reproduction    Virtually everyone knows that the genes, located in the nuclei of all cells of the body, control heredity from parents to children, but most people do not realize that these same genes also control day-today function of all the body’s cells. The genes control cell function by determining which substances are synthesized within the cell which structures, which enzymes, which chemicals. The general schema of genetic control : Each gene, which is a nucleic acid called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), automatically controls the formation of another nucleic acid, ribonucleic acid (RNA); this RNA then spreads throughout the cell to control the formation of a specific protein. Because there are more than 30,000 different genes in each cell, it is theoretically possible to form a very large number of different cellular proteins. Some of the cellular proteins are structural proteins, which, in associati...
Read more

The Anterior Pituitary and Hypothalamus

-
Image
The anterior pituitary is often referred to as the “master gland” because, together with the hypothalamus, it orchestrates the complex regulatory functions of multiple other endocrine glands. The anterior pituitary gland produces six major hormones: (1) prolactin (PRL), (2) growth hormone (GH), (3) adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH), (4) luteinizing hormone (LH), (5) follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and (6) thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Pituitary hormones are secreted in a pulsatile manner, reflecting stimulation by an array of specific hypothalamic releasing factors. Each of these pituitary hormones elicits specific responses in peripheral target tissues.  The Disorders of the Anterior  Pituitary and Hypothalamus  Hormonal products of these peripheral glands, in turn, exert feedback control at the level of the hypothalamus and pituitary to modulate pituitary function. Pituitary tumors cause characteristic hormone excess syndromes. Hormone deficiency m...
Read more

Hypothalamic Tumor

-
Image
HYPOTHALAMIC, PITUITARY, AND OTHER SELLAR MASSES PITUITARY TUMORS    Pituitary adenomas are the most common cause of pituitary hormone hypersecretion and hyposecretion syndromes in adults. They account for ~15% of all intracranial neoplasms. At autopsy, up to one-quarter of all pituitary glands harbor an unsuspected microadenoma. Pathogenesis    Pituitary adenomas are benign neoplasms that arise from one of the five anterior pituitary cell types. The clinical and biochemical phenotype of pituitary adenomas depend on the cell type from which they are derived. Thus, tumors arising from lactotrope (PRL), somatotrope (GH), corticotrope (ACTH), thyrotrope (TSH), or gonadotrope (LH, FSH) cells hypersecrete their respective hormones. . Plurihormonal tumors that express combinations of GH, PRL, TSH, ACTH, and the glycoprotein hormone α subunit may be diagnosed by careful immunocytochemistry or may manifest as clinical syndromes that combine features of these hor...
Read more