Proposing Parkinson ' s Disease to Originate in Either the Brain or the Gut

Parkinson's disease is characterized by the aggregation and spread of misfolded α-synuclein throughout the brain, though, as for all neurodegenerative conditions, there are many layers of cause and effect, and chronic inflammation and cellular dysfunction play noted roles as well. There has been some debate in recent years over whether the α-synuclein aggregation of Parkinson's disease begins in the gut or the brain, with evidence presented for both sides. The authors of this open access paper suggest that both are the case, and Parkinson's can be divided into two subtypes depending on the origin of α-synuclein misfolding. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a highly heterogeneous disorder, which probably consists of multiple subtypes. Aggregation of misfolded alpha-synuclein and propagation of these proteinacious aggregates through interconnected neural networks is believed to be a crucial pathogenetic factor. It has been hypothesized that the initial pathological alpha-synuclein aggregates originate in the enteric or peripheral nervous system (PNS) and invade the central nervous system (CNS) via retrograde vagal transport. However, evidence from neuropathological studies suggests that not all PD patients can be reconciled with this hypothesis. Importantly, a small fraction of patients do not show pathology in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus. Here, it is hypothesized that PD can be divided into a PNS-first and a CNS-first subtype. The former is tightly assoc...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs