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Author Spotlight: Exploring Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease

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Parkinson's disease from the gut.

Rodger A Liddle¹

¹Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center and Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, NC 27710, United States.

|January 24, 2018

Summary

Parkinson's disease (PD) may originate in the gut. Research suggests misfolded alpha-synuclein protein may first develop in gut enteroendocrine cells and spread to the nervous system.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Gastroenterology

Background:

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by alpha-synuclein aggregates (Lewy bodies) in the nervous system.
Gastrointestinal dysfunction and alpha-synuclein pathology in enteric nerves precede neurological symptoms in PD.
Reduced PD risk in vagotomy patients suggests a gut-brain connection.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the potential role of gut enteroendocrine cells (EECs) in the initiation of Parkinson's disease pathology.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on PD pathology, gut-brain axis, and alpha-synuclein.
Analysis of the anatomical and functional relationship between EECs and enteric nerves.

Main Results:

Enteroendocrine cells (EECs) in the gut contain alpha-synuclein and form synapses with enteric nerves.

Keywords:

Alpha-synuclein Enteroendocrine cell Gastrointestinal tract Lewy body Parkinson’s disease Prion

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This EEC-enteric nerve connection provides a potential pathway for alpha-synuclein to spread from the gut to the brain.

Conclusions:

Abnormal alpha-synuclein may first develop in gut EECs, initiating the pathological cascade of Parkinson's disease.
Targeting EECs or the gut-brain axis could offer novel therapeutic strategies for PD.