A revelation in our understanding of Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease is one of the most recognized neural disease which mostly affects old people by degrading motor function, dopamine receptors, and overall brain function. Every year, approximately 200,000 cases of the disease are reported which renders significant value for research to the scientific community. The fact that the disease doesn't have a cure further feeds value to more extensive research to be conducted on it. Recently, a group of researchers at CALTECH reached a conclusion that the disease is caused by a special microbiome of bacteria in the human gut. This certainly serves as a ground breaking discovery in terms of previous research initiatives conducted.
However, what influenced the researchers towards finding a link between the gut and the human brain for this disease? Apparently, out of the 10 million people who are affected by the disease, 70% of them have gastrointestinal issues. This served as a new lead for research since a high percentage of diseased individuals showed impaired functions in another specific part of the body. This influenced the researchers to question whether there is an actual link between the gut and the brain which would trigger Parkinson's or affect it in any fashion.
As most diseases are researched by using animals such as mice. It is no surprise that this study also included the use of mice to understand this fundamental link. Alpha-Synuclein-a protein that accumulates in abnormal amounts in the brains of those affected by the disease- remains a constant in this experiment. Researchers observed the physical behavior of the mice that produced abnormal amounts of the protein and weren't treated to be germ free:to not have any gastrointestinal microbes; they observed that these mice showed a significant degradation in motor function and an increase in brain inflammation. However, when the researchers raised another set of mice which produced abnormal amounts of the protein and were germ free;they showed better motor function because the protein, despite being produced in huge amounts, wasn't clumping and causing brain inflammation. The tertiary structure-the 3D structure- of alpha synuclein is shown in the image below.
Then, the researchers took a sample of gut microbes from the diseased set and injected them into the new set of mice which were healthy, and sure enough the new set of mice also developed the disease in 6-7 weeks. The researchers also took samples of gut microbes from healthy humans and injected them into the new set of mice; this set of mice remained healthy. This was the point where the researchers realized that a specific set of harmful microbes sent signals to the brain which causes the disease and aggravates it.
After this set of surprising results, the scientists decided to find which specific sets of microbes sent signals to the brain. In order to do that, they examined fecal matter from mice that showed symptoms of the disease and recorded the amount of certain microbes in that matter. There were some signs of particular microbes in excess amounts in the matter. However,more research needs to be conducted to completely validate which microbes are actually involved in the signaling process which causes the Alpha-Synuclein to build up in the brain.
The prospective benefits from the answers we receive from this research can change the way how Parkinson's disease affected individuals are treated. In fact, we may even be able to find a cure for Parkinson's disease which hasn't been achieved yet. If we found out the specific set of microbes, contributing to the disease, then we can develop a treatment plan which halts the development of this harmful microbiome and deteriorates it. The fruits of this research would be plentiful for the present and future generations but as always we are getting there.
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